


Red butterflies

by nanamicide



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26082547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanamicide/pseuds/nanamicide
Summary: Chiaki Nanami hasn't seen Hajime Hinata in over a year, and she's finally decided to move on.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Nanami Chiaki, Hinata Hajime/Nanami Chiaki, Kamukura Izuru & Nanami Chiaki, Kamukura Izuru/Nanami Chiaki, Munakata Kyosuke & Sakakura Juzo, Munakata Kyosuke & Yukizome Chisa, Munakata Kyosuke/Sakakura Juzo, Munakata Kyosuke/Yukizome Chisa
Comments: 142
Kudos: 168





	1. Longing

**Author's Note:**

> Quick summary of the AU:  
> Everything is the same as what happened in the despair side of the Danganronpa 3 anime, until that scene in which Junko threatens Sakakura. Instead of giving in to her, he decides to tell Munakata everything he's found out about her, even if it means that his feelings towards his friend will be exposed. This enables Munakata to find out more about the academy's corruption, and to eventually take over as headmaster. That means he has to handle everything that the academy had covered up until that point (the consequences of the killing game between the members of the student council, the Kamukura project, etc.)

The sun was about to set when Chiaki Nanami finally gave up and decided to head back to her dorm. Despite the sunlight hitting her face, she wasn’t feeling warm or grateful for the beauty of the moment. There once was a time when she would look at the sky turning orange, basking the buildings that made up the academy in majestic golden light, and she’d think about how lucky she was to be witnessing that moment. But that feeling was gone. It had slowly left her, along with him. She had to face it: he wouldn’t be joining her anymore, no matter how long she waited. It had been over a year since she’d last seen him, after all. And yet, part of her still hoped that she would see him again. That even if she hadn’t managed to work up the courage to tell him how she felt, she would get the chance to make up for it eventually. Wrapping her fingers around her backpack straps, she sighed. It hurt, but she wouldn’t wait anymore. Hinata-kun wasn’t coming back. She knew it.

The sun continued to set, and Chiaki stared at the ground as she slowly walked towards the place she’d been calling home for the past two years. She tried to remember their last encounter, as if it could hold some sort of answer. But just like every night for the past year, the list of questions she needed to find a response to only grew bigger with every effort she made to ease her pain. It was true that a lot had happened in the year he had stopped showing up to play video games with her, but it all seemed completely unrelated to what had been going on with them. Almost as if they had nothing to do with it. This meant that whatever she was looking for lay in her memory of the last evening they’d spent time together. There was only one problem: as time went by, that memory was fading away. She remembered everything about him, from how the color of his suit and hair made his green eyes stand out, to his smile and the way he would chuckle every time she beat him at video games. If she focused just hard enough, she could still hear his voice, and her heart would start beating faster when she’d recall the way he would say her name. But she couldn’t remember anything she’d done or said. There was something so special about him. And that special thing, even though she had no idea what it was or what to call it, had made her feel as though she was drunk every time she’d spent time with him. And because of that, she couldn’t remember what had pushed him away from her.

She walked in her room, kicked her shoes off and closed the curtains to avoid the golden light that painfully reminded her of him.

“I’m home,” she spoke softly, as if to snap herself out of her thoughts.

She was grateful that there was nothing special about her room. Other than the few video game posters she’d hung over the time she’d spent here, it looked just like any high school student’s dorm room. That was what she liked so much about it. She could just sit here for hours, playing the games she liked so much without being reminded of how special she was for attending Hope’s Peak Academy and being class rep. It was true that when it had first happened, Chiaki was thrilled with both of these opportunities, especially the latter. But now without Hinata-kun around, it felt like a sham when she was at her lowest. What was so special about her if the only guy she had ever felt anything towards had been able to completely cut contact with her out of nowhere? Sure, she was good at video games and remained undefeated, but that was all there was to her talent. In a way, she thought it was all there was to her as a person, and she hated it. He’d made her feel different, confident almost, and she missed it. She missed him. That was why she had kept the habit pf waiting for him near the fountain every day after he classes ended, even a year after he had stopped showing up. She longed for him, and for all the things he’d made her feel in their short time together.

 _No more of this_ , she thought. _Sure, every moment I’ve spent with Hinata-kun was amazing, but I can’t keep feeling this way. I didn’t do anything to him. I tried my best to help him and to make him feel like his lack of talent didn’t mean anything to me. It’s not my fault he stopped hanging out with me. It’s not my fault the feelings were one-sided._ Chiaki took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. _It’s just a shame he disappeared a few days before the academy finally started changing for the best. It’s probably why it’s so hard to move on. I don’t know what he’s up to, and I don’t know if Munakata-san’s way of running things has helped him. I hope it has, and I wish I could see it for myself. I wish I could give him back what he’s given me, even though he’s taken it all away so abruptly._

She crashed onto her bed and closed her eyes. Even though she couldn’t help herself, she knew it was pointless to keep thinking about it. She had to move on now and let her life go back to normal. That’s why she’d made her decision: this evening was the last time she’d wait for him by the fountain. She had waited long enough. Besides, it was about time she’d stop neglecting her class rep duties. She slapped her cheeks and sat up. If she’d just try, things would turn out okay, right? Hinata-kun may have abandoned her, but Yukizome-sensei and her classmates had chosen her as class rep, and regardless of how she’d been acting since he stopped showing up to their gaming sessions, that hadn’t changed. She had to gain back that confidence her first year at Hope’s Peak had given her. And to make that happen, she knew she had to look back on her time with him as a positive experience that had helped her grow as a person, rather than as something she needed in her life to feel good. Of course, all of this was easier said than done, and she knew it as well. But she would still try. She finally felt ready. It was as though deciding to stop waiting around for Hinata-kun to come back had lifted a huge weight off her chest; a weight that had been keeping her from having the strength to move forward and keep growing for a year.

Figuring that it was enough introspecting for the day, Chiaki grabbed her gaming console and turned it on. For now, she would just do what she did best. But since today marked the day she finally gave up on Hinata-kun, she would do something she hadn’t done in a year. She would play with someone else, and she would beat them. _Games are fun,_ she smiled to herself. _I can enjoy and share them with people who aren’t Hinata-kun._ Focusing on the bright screen and smashing the controls almost rhythmically, Chiaki did just that. She hadn’t played against someone else in what felt like forever, but she was happy to notice that it hadn’t gotten boring, even though Hinata-kun would never be her opponent again. However, that specific match didn’t last long.

“Huh? I lost?” Chiaki’s eyes widened. She had never lost against anyone else before. There was a reason why Hope’s Peak Academy had recruited her as the Ultimate Gamer. _Well, maybe I was just too lost in thought to win this one._ She quickly opened the chat room and typed in two simple words: _Rematch please?_ She wanted to know if there now was someone who was better at video games than she was, or if she had really just been too distracted by all the introspecting she had done earlier. She was practically sure it wouldn’t be the former, but she entertained the thought as she waited for her opponent’s reply. What exactly would she do? Would she be just another high school girl? Would she have to leave Hope’s Peak?

The sound of the chat notification brought her attention back to the screen. The words ‘ _No. This is boring.’_ had appeared, and she couldn’t believe it. Had she really been so bad that the person she’d been playing against had been bored the entire time? She quickly typed an apology, explaining that she would be more focused this time and promising that the rematch wouldn’t be boring. A few seconds later, the stranger obliged and started another game. Chiaki sat up, furrowed her brow, and gave it her all. She couldn’t let anyone believe that the games she loved so much were boring, especially not after playing against her. But no matter how hard she tried, she lost again. She was confused. It’d never happened before. How could this person beat her twice in a row?

It wasn’t long before the chat notification snapped her out of her thoughts again. And once again, the screen read a short and simple sentence: _‘As expected, I won. Boring.’_ Chiaki felt slightly frustrated. Sure, she’d stopped playing with other people after Hinata-kun had disappeared, but she had kept playing on her own. There was no way she’d just become bad at video games. She replied, asking the opponent if he wanted to try another game. In a way, no matter how frustrating this was, she had to admit she also felt excited about it. There was something thrilling about not knowing whether she’d win or not. That didn’t mean she hadn’t had fun every time she’d played with her classmates, but this was different. And right now, she liked different. Routine was comforting, but something new would make it easier to move and stop brooding over what happened a year ago. Once the stranger accepted to play another game, she hurriedly sent them a friend request. _Izukura, huh? If I just try, if I give it my best, I’ll win. And you won’t be able to call this boring a third time._

This went on like this for hours, until the mysterious Izukura disconnected and stopped responding to her messages. However, Chiaki wasn’t bothered by it. For the first time since Hinata-kun had left, she had fun playing video games. It didn’t matter that she’d lost every single match they had played together. She was only grateful that she got to experience this. _And to think I could have experienced this a few months ago, if only I had chosen to move on. How silly am I?_ She got off her bed and opened the curtains. The golden light of the sunset had given place to the dark shades of the night. Chiaki looked up at the moon and thought that the scenery was just as beautiful as the one she was used to meeting Hinata-kun in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this first chapter! I hadn't written anything in years so I may be a little rusty. Feel free to let me know if there is anything I could do to improve this. I'm not sure when I'll get around to writing the second chapter, but it shouldn't be more than a week without an update.


	2. Analyzing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is here. Thank you for the kudos and comments on the first chapter, I was really happy to see some people were reading! I hope this will meet whatever expectations you have for this story. Don't hesistate to let me know if there's anything I could improve in the comments.

Izuru turned off his console and set it down beside him. Munakata-sensei was the only reason why he hadn’t been terminated along with Enoshima. That was why he had to do everything he demanded from him. However, despite all his abilities, his teacher’s latest request made no sense to him. He understood very well that he was meant to be the embodiment of talent itself, and that as such, he had to compete against all the other Ultimates enrolled at Hope’s Peak. What he did not understand was why he had asked him to interact with Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer, through the messaging system of the game they were playing, especially after he had already beat her twice. He did not understand why Munakata-sensei could have considered, even for a second, that this would entertain him in any way. Every single game was predictable: he always won. Every single message Nanami typed was predictable: she kept asking for more games. And it was boring. The entire thing bored him to death.

It was past midnight, and Izuru had had enough of it. Munakata-sensei hadn’t told him just how long he was supposed to keep this up for, but given that the older man had gone to sleep, he assumed that it was fine for him to stop now. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his silky black hair, letting out an inaudible sigh. Everything bored him. No matter what he did, ever since they had created him, nothing seemed to have any meaning. There was a time when he had been curious about whether some things could remain unpredicted by him, but after everything that had happened with – and to – Enoshima, he knew for sure that such things did not exist. Izuru lied down, gazing at the ceiling. He wondered if there was some sort of hidden motive behind Munakata-sensei’s request. If so, he should have been able to predict it. Pushing that thought aside, he let out yet another bored sigh and closed his eyes, deciding to call it a day. He then very quickly and easily fell asleep.

He did not particularly like sleeping, nor did he need it. He merely knew that if he did not get at least a few hours of rest per night, the next day’s activities would not only be boring, but also annoying. Still, sleeping was the most boring task of all, for he did not dream. Izuru knew that it was due to all his talents. Knowing almost everything there is to know about the world meant that he had no unresolved unconscious troubles, which according to Freud were the roots of all dreams. He still wished he could dream. Even though he had no evidence of it, he still assumed the content of his dreams would be harder to predict than the content of his day to day life. His entire existence, no matter what state of consciousness he found himself in, was nothing but boring.

**XXXXXXX**

Every morning for the past year, Miaya Gekkogahara had followed the same routine. She would wake up at 6:00am, have a quick breakfast and shower, get dressed, quickly style her light blue hair and put on makeup. Only then would she head to the underground floor of the faculty staff building of Hope’s Peak Academy to check on Izuru Kamukura. This morning was no different. She muffled a yawn under her scarf and opened the door to the room where all the neurological equipment was set up.

The first step was to check Izuru’s brain activity, which was constantly recorded on the electroencephalogram. She dreaded that task more than anything, as she had never been too good with actual medical equipment, even though she was trained to use it.

_If the Ultimate Neurologist were still alive, I wouldn’t be in charge of this. I would just have to talk to Kamukura-kun every morning. As uncooperative as he is, at least I know exactly how to deal with it. This isn’t beyond my reach, no, I’ve been trained for this as well. But the extra time spent trying to interpret this graph is time I can’t spend helping those who were directly affected by the Tragedy. I know Kamukura-kun’s case is important – he could turn out to be a ticking time bomb if we didn’t keep close watch of him but—_

Miaya’s train of thought was cut short when her eyes reached the brain activity that had been recorded between midnight and 3:00am. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Ever since Munakata-kun had entrusted her with this task, the results had mostly been the same. Normal brain activity throughout the previous day, with a slight variation in the alpha waves when Kamukura-kun would eventually fall asleep, which was entirely normal. The only difference between Kamukura-kun’s graph and that of a normal patient, would be that Kamukura-kun’s would show a lot less variations, regardless of the activities he would take part in. But this morning was different. Miaya caught herself smiling a little too excitedly for her taste, rolled her eyes at her own reaction, and tried to figure out what she would do next. Something different was going on, she was sure of it. But recording brain activity was too vague. She couldn’t know if this was good or bad news. Getting excited over this was stupid. Realizing that, she could almost hear Matsuda-kun telling her about how she needed to be more careful and not have so much faith in other human-beings. She thought about her late friend, mentally talking to him. That was another thing she did every morning after handling the tasks that should have been his.

_Well, you were right when you said I’d be disappointed in you if I had known about all your secret projects, but you weren’t as bad a person as you made yourself out to be publicly. You did care about your research more than about other people – except for Enoshima, that is – but you were also following orders, weren’t you? You liked the Neo World Program as much as I did. There’s no way you could have thought whatever you had to do to create Kamukura-kun was right. I know you were protecting her, and that they probably threatened to lower your funding if you refused to do what you did to him, but we were friends. If you’d told me about this I could have helped you. But you didn’t. And now I have to do your job on top of mine!_

She paused and closed her eyes. She had met Matsuda-kun when she came up with the idea for the Neo World Program. As a result of working together everyday for months, they’d become friends. Their fields of study weren’t entirely different. Matsuda-kun fixed brains while she fixed behaviors and thought patterns, the produce of brain activity. Collaborating had enabled them to reach new standards in their research, so it was obvious that a friendship would be born from it. It was a shame that he hadn’t trusted her as much as she trusted him.

Opening her eyes again, she pressed a few buttons on her wheelchair and stopped in front of the door that lead to Kamukura-kun’s room. She wasn’t sure what to expect. She was excited that something had changed, but remembering Matsuda-kun’s way of nagging her had made her almost wary of what was going to happen today. Despite her worries, she knew she had to face it. At least, this morning would be different from every morning she’d been through since Munakata-kun took over the Academy. A few seconds later, she opened the door.

“Good morning, Kamukura-kun!” she typed, letting Usami be her voice.

“Good morning,” he replied in his usual monotonous tone. Somehow, this reassured her. Despite the change in his brain activity, he still seemed as bored as usual. She knew that being Talent itself, Kamukura-kun could have been faking his current state of mind. Yet, she was confident enough to believe she would have been able to notice if he were putting on an act.

As always, the sight of the room Munakata-kun kept him in bothered her. It was too simple, devoid of any character, and looked as though no one really lived in it. She knew it wasn’t entirely her former classmate’s fault. He had given Kamukura-kun all the freedom he needed to change things. But the fact that the space felt so small, in spite of how neatly organized it was, was to be blamed on him. She knew her client – could she even call him that? – did not mind it, but she did. How could someone grow when they were stuck in such a place, with no option to ever leave? She knew Tengan-san, one of the former headmasters of the academy, had carried out the Kamukura project to create the Ultimate Hope, but did the room really enable such hope to bloom and shine through?

Setting her own questions aside, Miaya carried on with the usual check-up interrogation. She disliked it, thinking it didn’t give her the freedom she needed to really connect with Kamukura-kun. It felt almost artificial, even though she genuinely cared to hear what he had to say in response to it.

“So, what were yesterday’s activities?”

“I was instructed to play video games against Chiaki Nanami. As predicted, I won every single one of them.”

“Hm, and how did that make you feel? Did you have fun?”

“It was boring. I didn’t feel anything particular.”

“Really?” She typed in a command to make Usami frown, “but your EEG shows-”

“I know, last night’s brain activity is different from what it’s always been. You want to know why. I seem to have experienced something similar to a dream.” Miaya made Usami nod, urging him to continue. “It was as though I were looking at a photograph, nothing more.”

There was a moment of silence, as Miaya thought about a way to find out more about what Kamukura-kun had seen. She didn’t have to ask anything, though. The young dark-haired man continued on his own, as if he had guessed what she wanted from him – she knew he probably had.

“It looked like a pixelated spaceship, but it was too small in size to be an actual spaceship. It was more like a representation of one.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

She was used to his short answers, but she still wished he’d tell her more about his dream. There had to be more to it, even if just in the form of a background around the spaceship he had told her about. Yet, since she knew Kamukura-kun knew just as well as her that every detail of a dream could be important, she assumed he’d purposefully decided to withhold that information from her. It seemed pointless to pursue it any further. He wouldn’t respond. Instead, she carried on with the rest of her daily questions, asking him if he felt distressed, how he felt towards the academy and its staff, if he missed Enoshima, along with a few other questions that helped her assess his current mental state.

As Miaya was about to exit Kamukura-kun’s room to report back to Munakata-kun, he spoke:

“I know you have to report everything I tell you to Munakata-sensei but I also know that as your client, I am entitled to confidentiality. I don’t want Munakata-sensei to know about this dream-like experience I had.” Fingers hitting her keyboard, the Ultimate Therapist made Usami raise an eyebrow, silently questioning the young man. “He will assume that yesterday’s activity and the dream are related, so I predict he will ask me to play more games against Nanami. But they bored me. I don’t want to play video games against her anymore.”

The blue-haired woman was surprised, and was grateful that she used an avatar to communicate and could hide her lips behind her scarf. Even though Kamukura-kun had extremely sharp analytical abilities, he still couldn’t read her mind. Besides, he’d been careless enough to request something from her for the first time. This meant that the dream, or playing games with Nanami-chan, was making him feel something different. Something that he didn’t know how to interpret or deal with. As the Ultimate Therapist, Miaya couldn’t hide it from her former classmate, but she wasn’t sure whether she could lie to her client. Usami’s voice eventually filled the silence in the room:

“I think you know he has someone else look over your medical results. That means he will find out about your EEG results form someone else, if not from me. I’m sorry, Kamukura-kun, I will have to tell him. But playing video games with Nanami-chan shouldn’t be such a bother. After all, every activity Munakata-kun has put you through ever since he took over has bored you as well.”

She looked up, trying to catch a glance of his face, only to realize that despite what had happened yesterday, his face still wasn’t showing any sort of emotion whatsoever.

“So, I will see you tomorrow, Kamukura-kun.”

He promptly replied, and she left the room, closing the door behind her. For the first time since she had been working with Kamukura-kun, Miaya was excited about reporting to Munakata-kun, and about the project as a whole.


	3. Moving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the feedback so far, I really appreciate it! This chapter was a little bit harder to write for some reason but here it is. I hope you guys enjoy it.   
> Also, the end notes for chapter 1 were showing at the end of chapter 2 for me for some reason (and I hope posting this chapter doesn't move them to the end of chapter 3), does anyone know if I can fix it and how to do it? I tried removing notes entirely but it didn't seem to change anything, so I'm not sure what to do. Didn't think I was that bad with technology :(

Juzo Sakakura was sitting on a chair, watching his friend pacing around the room. This was quite an usual occurrence, but this time, Kyosuke seemed more nervous than he usually was. He kept staring at him for a few more minutes, until the white-haired man returned his glance. Then, Juzo lowered his gaze and stared at his hands. _Dammit,_ he thought, _he knows exactly how I feel about him but I’m still acting as if I were supposed to hide it – as if he hadn’t told me that it was okay and he did return my feelings, but that I just had to be patient. On top of that, I’m just sitting here, in silence, when I know damn well that something is bothering him. It’s both because of and thanks to me that he’s in this position, but I’m still useless. I really don’t deserve to be his right-hand man, especially not when I’m acting like a silly school boy with a crush on the popular guy. I need to snap out of it._

He did eventually snap out of it, but as always, it was a second too late. Gekkogahara-san, their former classmate, had already made her way into the office. Kyosuke gestured for her to come closer, having her sit across from him, and right next to Juzo. As every morning, it was also Kyosuke who started the conversation going, while Juzo just sat there silently, cursing himself for not being more assertive in his presence and when he needed him:

“How was Kamukura-kun this morning?”

The question remained up in the air for a few more seconds than usual, as if Gekkogahara-san was thinking about what to say. Juzo was once again about to speak when she began typing. The voice of the avatar she used to communicate soon filled the room:

“I think we’ve finally begun to make progress. Kamukura-kun had a very light dream last night, but he didn’t want me to tell you about it. From what I understand, it’s related to video games. He said he saw a pixelated spaceship. There’s only one problem though, he said he doesn’t want to play video games again today. You know, the usual complaint about how boring it all is. Except he’s never made such a request about anything else you’ve had him do over the past year, so there has to be something going on.”

“Thank you, Gekkogahara-san. Was there anything else?”

“Well, I have a request, you know, as your former classmate.” Juzo noticed that she made her avatar, Usami, wink at Kyosuke. Even though she was constantly hiding behind that pink rabbit, he almost envied the confidence she’d gained through it.

“What would that be?”

“Don’t ask Kamukura-kun to play video games—”

“But you said they’re the reason for the recent progress.”

“If you force it on him, you’ll ruin that progress,” Usami’s high-pitched but soft voice explained. “I am as excited as you to see that Kamukura-kun may be secretly experiencing something other than boredom, but I don’t want to rush it. We don’t know what any of it means yet. It could be dangerous.”

Juzo threw a quick glance at Kyosuke, who seemed slightly annoyed with what he’d just heard. Despite that, the white-haired man complied, and told Gekkogahara-san that he would see her tomorrow morning at the usual time. And just like that, their former classmate was gone. It was just the two of them again. Juzo stared at one of the immaculately white walls of the office until he finally decided to speak:

“Are you going to listen to her?”

“She knows better, doesn’t she?”

“But you said that when the Kamukura ordeal would be taken care of we could finally—”

“Enough, Juzo,” Kyosuke snapped. “While it’s true that intend to step down from the position of chairman and to give it back to Kirigiri-san so that I can focus on my….” He paused, swallowing loudly, as if what he were about to say was wrong. “Personal matters, it doesn’t mean that I want to rush any of this. It would be bad if I handed this back to Kirigiri-san without making sure everything has been thoroughly dealt with. Kamukura-kun may not be a threat now, but that doesn’t mean he won’t become one in the future. You know how Kirigiri-san is. He lacks the strength of a true leader. I care too much about this academy to leave it before fully fixing it.”

Juzo’s heart sank as he heard his words. He felt like screaming at him, only to ask him if cared about anything other than that damn academy, and if he even cared about him. He wanted to tell him that they should forget about this academy, but he did none of it. Instead, he just nodded and went back to staring at the wall. He was tired of constantly having to put on this tough guy act, as if nothing affected him, but he had to. He was the Former Ultimate Boxer; the epitome of manliness. He couldn’t afford to let his feelings get the best of him. It had saved them against Enoshima, but it wouldn’t save them again. The only problem was that ever since he had confessed to Kyosuke, it had become harder for him to repress it.

“Very well, what can I do to help?”

Kyosuke slowly paced towards one of the shelves, pulling a file from it. It was labelled ‘Class 77’ and contained the profiles of all the students from that class, as well as Yukizome Chisa’s, their homeroom teacher. He placed the file on the desk and started flipping through it, and stopped on one page.

“This is Nanami Chiaki,” he spoke. “She’s the Ultimate Gamer. From what I have gathered from Matsuda’s notes on the Kamukura project, Hajime Hinata, Kamukura-kun’s vessel, used to be very close to her.” He tapped a finger on her picture, pointing at the hairclip. “I think that’s the spaceship Gekkogahara-san was talking about.”

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

“Because, I plan on going against what she said,” he whispered, now pointing towards the door and making Juzo understand that it was possible their former classmate was spying on them. He didn’t think she was the type to do that, but he knew how careful Munakata-kun was. “I will make sure they keep playing together, even today. But I need you to find out what game that hairclip comes from.”

Juzo wanted to ask him why, or how to go about it, but decided against it. He finally had a good opportunity to impress him again, and he wasn’t going to let it pass. After almost a year of constantly screwing up, he was grateful he had been given a simple enough task. He stood up, facing Kyosuke and lowering his gaze so as to stare in his deep blue eyes.

“I will bring that information to you before the end of the day,” he promised.

“Just don’t be reckless, I don’t want Gekkogahara-san to figure us out.”

Juzo gave his friend a quick nod, and stepped out of the office. In the hallway, he looked out the window. The sun was shining bright, bringing him that extra hope he needed to carry on with his task.

**XXXXXXX**

The bell rang, letting everyone know that the day was over. Chiaki stood up and waved goodbye to her classmates as she walked out the door. She stepped outside of the building, smiling as she felt the sunlight hit her pale skin. There was something else she wanted to do today: go home and play video games with Izukura. Despite the fact he’d been calling the games boring the entire time they were playing, she had a feeling that he would be online again tonight, and that she would finally get to beat him and show him that video games were fun. She wasn’t too sure why, but even though she didn’t know anything about the person hiding behind that username, she was intrigued by them. If she were entirely honest, part of her couldn’t believe that they were actually bored last night. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but she felt as though it was all an act. No one around her had ever been bored playing video games after all, not even her most inexperienced classmates.

As she was thinking about which games they would play tonight, she bumped into someone. Chiaki absentmindedly apologized before looking up at the person. All she saw was a mass of muscles, tan skin, and short, wavy green-ish hair. She quickly realized that she’d bumped into Juzo Sakakura-san, the headmaster’s right hand man. At that moment, she almost envied Komaeda-kun’s luck. This would have never happened to him.

“Are you okay?” Chiaki’s eyes widened, as she processed these words. Those were exactly the first words Hinata-kun had exchanged with her when they had first met. In spite of what she had promised herself yesterday, the memories that were suddenly flowing back made her upset.

“Yes, I should have watched where I was going. I’m really sorry,” she replied, walking away as quickly as possible. She didn’t want to be here. The sky was starting to turn a bright orange, just like it had on that evening. The setting was so similar that it was unbearable.

“Wait, you’re Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer, right?” She nodded, still unable to face him. “This may be a weird question,” he continued, “but I remember playing the game your hairpin is from as a teenager but I can’t remember its na—”

At that point, Chiaki’s brain tuned out. Why was he asking her about Gala Omega? Why did this moment seem to mirror her first encounter with Hinata-kun? Why was one of the most important members of the academy’s staff so interested in her all of a sudden? Had she really bumped into him, or had he been standing in her way so this would happen? 

“Nanami-san, are you okay?”

“I’m sorry, Sakakura-san, what was the question?”

“What’s the name of the game this is from,” he replied, pointing at her hairclip.

She tried to speak, but no sound came out of her mouth. The air she had inhaled in order to speak seemed to be stuck in her throat, forming a lump that made breathing harder than it had ever been. Chiaki wasn’t sure what was happening to her. She could faintly hear Sakakura-san calling her name, but the world around her seemed to be spinning. She dug her fingernails into her palms, as though she were trying to anchor herself to something. Her vision became blurry and, as she lost her balance, she was surprised not to crash onto the solid concrete beneath her. Instead, she felt something warm. A few seconds later, everything around her turned black. The last things she remembered were thinking about how much she wished she’d never met Hinata-kun, and hearing Sakakura-san muttering something about messing up.

**XXXXXXX**

Juzo cursed himself as Nanami-san’s small frame collided with his arms. He had no idea what had just happened, but he got that familiar feeling that always occurred after botching whatever mission Munakata-kun had assigned him. Yet, he knew it wasn’t too late. With all the buzzing from the students of the academy walking back to their dorms, his conversation with Nanami-san, and her eventually fainting had seemingly gone unnoticed. That meant he still had time to take her to the nurse’s office without being questioned by any of his former classmates. If he were lucky enough, Mikan Tsumiki’s shift would have started by the time he would reach the office. The Ultimate Nurse definitely lacked the confidence to go against orders, or to ask any type of question to anyone who gave them to her. It would be easy enough to ask her to hide this from others. Having a more concrete picture of what he was supposed to do now, Juzo rushed to his destination.

He eventually reached the nurse’s office, after what had felt like hours – though in reality, he knew it’d only been a few minutes. He had been on edge the entire time, scanning his surroundings before every step to ensure that he wouldn’t run into Gekkogahara-san, or worse, Yukizome-san. While it was the former that Munakata-kun had asked him to keep this a secret from, Juzo knew that he could always make up a story explaining why he had been with Nanami-san when she passed out if he saw her. That would probably stop her from being too suspicious or reporting anything to their boss. Besides, it was unlikely that she would even recognize Nanami-san, or know who she was. She hadn’t even mentioned her in her report to Munakata-kun. This would be okay. Yukizome-san, however, was too close to Munakata-kun to hide anything from him. She was still, even though he knew the other man had been avoiding her, his girlfriend, and she still called him every night. Juzo knew this because he usually was around when his crush’s phone would ring, and hearing him pick up and talk to her always made his stomach turn. He used to be able to deal with their relationship, but now that Munakata-kun knew how he felt and seemed to reciprocate, things were different.

Juzo gently opened the door to the nurse’s office without knocking, taking a glance inside. Once again, he ruined everything.

“Fuck,” he breathed, just loud enough for the head of blue hair that was inside the office to turn towards him.

“Wh-what happened to Nanami-san?” Tsumiki-san asked, rushing towards him.

Having lost all his composure after seeing Gekkogahara-san in the room, Juzo was unable to lie. “We were talking and she suddenly passed out,” he mumbled before pausing. The Ultimate Nurse had him lay the young girl on one of the beds. “It may be that she’s not eat—” 

“Well,” Usami’s voice chimed in, “this may be nerdview, but maybe whatever you were talking to her about stressed her out. You’re one of the higher-ups, it would make sense. I’ll do a little check-up when she comes to. Munakata-kun is waiting for you, anyway.”

“…Really?” Juzo, hesitated. He wanted to tell Gekkogahara-san that she was wrong, but he knew it was pointless. Besides, despite the fact she was communicating via her avatar, he felt like she knew something already. If she didn’t, she would have asked him what he had been talking to Nanami-san about. Staying here and protesting would only make things worse, so it was better to comply. Things were already bad enough as they were, but there was still a chance that Munakata-kun would never hear about this. “I’ll go then. Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for reading! I don't know if I'll be able to update this weekend since I'm going to my hometown to visit my family with my boyfriend, but I have practically finished writing chapter 4 so maybe I'll be able to finish editing it during the weekend, but no promise. At worst, this will be updated on Monday.


	4. Wondering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the editing isn't too sloppy on this one. I'm sorry if it is, but I really wanted to upload (I needed to get away from this chapter, tbh)

The room was brightly lit, and Chiaki winced as she opened her eyes. She wasn’t sure where she was, or why she was there, but she didn’t feel endangered. She felt oddly tired, though; as if something draining had happened a few moments ago. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before looking around the room. _Ah, I’m in the nurse’s office,_ she thought. A blue-haired woman was across from her, sitting in a wheelchair, seemingly focused on the screen in front of her. Chiaki had never seen her before, but she assumed that she was just another member of the academy’s staff. _Maybe another nurse? No, that’s impossible, I would have seen her with Tsmumiki-san before if she were. But this is the nurse’s office, so she has to be some sort of medical professional._

“N-nanami-san, you’re a-awake… I’m so g-glad, really…” Hearing the Ultimate Nurse’s voice, Chiaki turned to her.

“Why am I here?”

Chiaki heard a buzzing sound as she asked the question. She looked up and realized that the other person was moving towards her. A few seconds later, a bunny appeared on the wheelchair’s screen and started talking:

“Sakakura-kun brought you here. He had something to do with the headmaster and couldn’t wait until you woke up, so I thought I’d give Tsumiki-chan a hand.” The artificial voice was cheerful, and Chiaki felt somewhat relieved. Nothing bad seemed to have happened to her. Despite that, confusion quickly took over.

“Sakakura-san brought me here?” she questioned, almost doubting what she had just heard.

“You don’t remember?”

Chiaki sat up, trying to remember what she had done today. She remembered sleeping through her alarm and having to rush to class. She had skipped breakfast so she felt hungry when she arrived, but Hanamura-kun had brought snacks – well, calling Hanamura-kun’s cooking snacks was a bit of an insult to it – so that was solved pretty quickly. Her classes had gone by as normally as classes could go at Hope’s Peak academy, and she’d spent most of her time with Sonia-san. Then the bell rang, and she waved everyone goodbye and rushed back to her dorm because she wanted to play games and that’s when she – _Oh, that’s right. I bumped into Sakakura-san and he asked me about my hairpin. Afterwards everything went blurry and I felt dizzy because—_

“Nanami-chan, you’re quite pale. Is everything alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine… I think?” Chiaki pressed her face into her palms, wincing again. She remembered what had happened, but she didn’t understand why it had affected her that much. She wasn’t going to lie to herself and pretend like forgetting Hinata-kun was as easy as she had assumed it would be, but to faint just because she had been reminded of their first encounter? She thought that was an extreme reaction, even for her; it was something she’d only seen in games. She had no idea it could happen in the real world.

“You think?”

“Ah, yes. I was just remembering what happened when I fainted, that’s all. I’m really okay,” she paused for a moment, wondering why this unknown person seemed to care so much about her. There was no reason for her, or Sakakura-san, to be so interested in her. This all was coming out of nowhere, and Chiaki wasn’t comfortable with it. Something about it was odd.

“Sorry, I just realized I haven’t introduced myself yet,” the pink rabbit spoke. “I am Gekkogahara Miaya, former Ultimate Therapist. And this is Usami-chan! We’ve been working at the academy since Tengan-san resigned. Munakata-san thought it would be good for the people who were suffering from the consequences of the Tragedy. But there’s so much going on here that I end up meeting and talking to people who weren’t affected at all,” she paused. Chiaki was impressed with how fast she was typing, and how smoothly the program she was using to speak as Usami was running. “This may include you, Nanami-chan. Tsumiki-chan ran a few tests while you were still unconscious, and they showed to physiological anomaly that could explain the fact you passed out earlier. So I thought there may have been something you wanted to talk about.”

Chiaki moved her gaze from the screen to Gekkogahara-san, wondering if she could really trust her. She didn’t really want to talk to her, but she wanted to know why the higher-ups seemed to be interested in her today. She also knew that talking to Gekkogahara-san could help her find some sort of closure when it came to what she had shared with Hinata-kun. However, she wasn’t sure she was ready to share any of this, especially not by talking to a stranger. It was already hard enough for her to open to up her classmates. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how tough it would be to talk to someone she barely knew, especially knowing that they were close to the people running the academy.

“Well, you don’t have to decide now,” Usami said softly. “Here’s where to reach me in case you ever want to talk.” Gekkogahara-san handed her a piece of paper with her e-mail address on it. Chiaki grabbed it and nodded, smiling at the blue-haired woman. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about her, but she had no reason to act hostile. “I’ll see you around, Nanami-chan!”

The pink rabbit on the screen waved at her, and Gekkogahara-san quietly exited the room. Left alone with Tsumiki-san, Chiaki went to grab her coat and thank her classmate for watching over her. She didn’t need to stay here any longer. She had games to play, and a revenge to take, after all.

When she got out of the academy’s main building, the sun had finished setting, and everything was pitch black. Chiaki slowly walked towards her dorm, feeling strangely at ease. She realized that Gekkogahra-san’s presence had been oddly calming, in spite of her doubts when it came to her true intentions. _Maybe she’s not so bad and I’m being overly careful,_ she told herself, clutching the piece of paper she had been given and feeling the cool night on her skin.

She eventually reached her dorm room, kicked off her shoes and sat on the edge of her bed. Regardless of what had happened today, she was still excited to play games against Izukura, for some reason. She grabbed her console and scrolled through the list of people who were online, only to be disappointed when she found out that the person she wanted to play with, wasn’t. They hadn’t messaged her either – though she wasn’t sure why she had even expected them to, it wasn’t like they had had a super deep conversation that suddenly made them best friends, after all – and Chiaki felt slightly bothered by it.

Today really hadn’t been her day, had it? But she wasn’t going to let it get to her. And just like that, Chiaki started playing her favorite game, _Gala Omega._

**XXXXXXX**

Munakata-kun was furious. Juzo knew it. His friend wasn’t the most talkative person in the world, but whenever he was mad he turned completely silent. And that was exactly how he was that evening: silent. He hadn’t even glanced at him ever since he had walked in the office. The lack of words coming from either of them only added to the constant cold atmosphere of Munakata-kun’s office. As much as he enjoyed being in his company, Juzo had always disliked this office. The white walls and lack of decoration – Munakata-kun only had a framed picture of the two of them with Yuzikome-san sitting on top of his desk – along with the fact that the exposition of the room made it that the sunlight only rarely reached it, could have made anyone feel as though they were in some sort of isolated and desolate place. Munkata-kun’s white suit, hair, and piercing blue gaze didn’t help either. If they hadn’t been so close, Juzo would have definitely done anything he could to leave the office.

Suddenly, Munakata-kun’s phone started ringing. The white-haired man grabbed it, only to turn it off. Juzo was surprised. He knew it was Yukizome-san who was calling. It never was anyone else. And although things had been complicated between her and Munakata-kun, he had never ignored any of her calls. He avoided seeing her in person, no matter how hard that was considering they both worked at Hope’s Peak, but he always picked up the phone when she called him. Juzo didn’t enjoy witnessing these calls, but seeing Munakata-kun reject today’s call didn’t make him feel any better. Instead, the feeling that something was wrong only grew bigger.

“Munaka—”

“Give me at least one piece of good news, Juzo.”

He scratched the back of his head, his cheeks warming up ever so slightly at the lack of honorific and use of his first name. There had only been another instance of this: when he had reported to him about Enoshima’s actions and eventually confessed to him. Juzo knew this meant what happened today was important, even if things had gone wrong. And that made him feel worse when he realized he couldn’t give the man he loved what he wanted.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t manage to get the information you wanted,” was all Juzo managed to say. He wasn’t scared of Munakata-kun’s reaction. He was an amazing leader, and definitely not the type of person to lose their composure when things didn’t go their way. He just despised knowing that he was making him disappointed over and over again. The only time he had done something right by him was when he told him the truth about Enoshima, and even that hadn’t been a complete victory. At times like these, Juzo wondered what would have happened if he had decided to tell him that she was innocent.

“This isn’t good,” Munakata-kun sighed, pulling the chair towards him and sitting down. “Nothing went right today. At least Kamukura-kun hasn’t tried to escape… Yet.”

“What happened?” Juzo raised an eyebrow, confused.

“I did exactly what Gekkogahara-san told me not to. At first he was cooperating, but then Nanami-san wasn’t online, and he refused to do anything. I don’t understand much about the medical files regarding the Kamukura project, but he isn’t supposed to remember anything from his life as Hajime Hinata so I can’t fathom why he would shun me because he can’t play or interact with this girl.”

“Maybe he needs a reminder of what happened to Enoshima. It’s been months, after all.”

“He’s too intelligent to not know what he risks if he doesn’t do as told. He has every single talent you can think of.”

“Then he fell back into des—”

“Enough, Juzo. Kamukura-kun is completely different from Enoshima. You and I both know that although she didn’t seem to care about many things, she was entirely obsessed with despair. Actually, _you_ should know this better than I do. She almost got to you, remember? Kamukura-kun doesn’t care about anything at all. Not despair. Not hope. He knows everything. He can do anything. So everything is boring to him. And yet, he seemed to care about Nanami-san.”

“Do you think it’s possible he developed a crush on her when you made him interact with her in the game’s chatroom?” Juzo knew the explanation was too simplistic, but he didn’t care. He was very well aware that Munakata-kun didn’t keep him around for his sharp observations. “You told me this morning that his vessel was apparently close to her. It’s possible that it was all it took for him to, say, reignite whatever they had.”

“Hopefully it’s as simple as that. In any case, we should monitor him all night,” Munakata-kun responded, pointing to his screen. “I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”

Juzo nodded, walking over to the other side of the desk. He looked at the screen that was displaying what the surveillance cameras that had been installed in Kamukura-kun’s room were recording and smiled. Maybe it was his fault if Munakata-kun’s day had been so bad, but he didn’t need to know that. He would probably tell him what he’d done tomorrow, if he asked him. For now, he just wanted to enjoy the night that was about to come, without wondering how things would have turned out if he hadn’t talked to Nanami-san today, or told everything he knew about Enoshima back when he’d had the chance to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your feedback so far, and for sticking with me for 4 chapters. I appreciate it more than you guys think! Also, if you've made it this far, please stick around for chapter 5 because even if it may not look like it from this chapter, things are about to get more interesting.


	5. Planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izuru is one tough character to write!

Izuru remembered. Well, he wasn’t entirely sure he remembered, but it felt as though memories were coming back to him. And it was quite confusing, especially for someone with his level of knowledge and talent. He rested his chin in the palm and tried to mentally relive everything that had happened to him today, hoping that this would help him think more clearly.

 _Munakata-sensei walks into my room and tells me he wants me to play video games again. I expected him to say that, but I still refuse. I know it’s pointless but I can’t help doing it, as if someone else had taken control of my body for a few seconds. Munakata-sensei asks me why, but I can’t answer. I don’t know_ why _I don’t want to play these games anymore. As Gekkogahara-san pointed out during this morning’s checkup, everything bores me. Video games are no different. And yet, I don’t want to play them._

_Since I can’t come up with an explanation, I just tell Munakata-sensei that I’m tired; I didn’t sleep well, and he would be able to confirm this by looking at the EEG graph. I bring it up because I know Gekkogahara-san told him about it. She told me she had to. However, and I had already predicted this when giving the explanation, Munakata-sensei tells me being tired is no excuse; that with my level of talent, fatigue should be no issue. He’s right. Protesting further would be pointless. Even if I wanted to be honest with him, I couldn’t. Because I, myself, have no idea what’s happening to me._

_So, I grab the gaming console and turn it on. And I see it again. The spaceship from my dream. My heartbeat gets faster, as if I were excited for something. This makes no sense. I’m able to brush it all off after a few seconds. Then, as instructed by Munakata-sensei, I check if Nanami is online. She isn’t. I get… Upset? Mad? Sad? I’m not sure. But I know I’m experiencing something negative. Munakata-sensei tells me to wait. I do. But she never comes online. Thirty minutes pass, then an hour, and I turn off the console._ _I was feeling on edge the entire time, and I didn’t know what to do about it. I had no clue what was happening to me. And I disliked it more than I disliked boredom._

_Munakata-sensei tries to scold me, but I ignore him. I don’t care what he has to say about this. I know his threat to terminate me like he’d terminated Enoshima is a lie. He wouldn’t be able to cover up my death. He may have a lot of influence, but he’s not as influent as Tengan or the steering committee were. Besides, the people he surrounds himself with, and involved in my surveillance, are genuinely good people who would not let him get away with it. I would also have the ability to run away from the academy if he tried anything. So I lie down on my bed and pretend like I’m asleep. He knows I’m not really sleeping. I don’t think he cares that much about it. He just tells me that if I do this again tomorrow, I’ll end up like Enoshima. He leaves._

Izuru sighed. He hated to admit it but he couldn’t figure it out. And if he couldn’t, nobody else could. This only meant one thing: it was time for him to leave the tiny space he had been confined to since they got rid of Enoshima; time for him to act and take control over his existence. He was aware of the security cameras in his room, and in the rest of the building they were hiding him in, but with all the abilities they’d given him, bypassing them shouldn’t be too complicated. His main worry was Munakata-sensei himself. He knew that after what he had done today, he would be keeping his eye on him. He also knew that being the natural-born leader he was, he would have no issue sending people after him if he tried anything too reckless. Izuru needed a solid plan. Despite everything, was aware of the huge advantage had had in the situation. He was talented at everything. Everyone else here only excelled in one particular field.

He opened his laptop and positioned it in a way that made it impossible for whoever was watching the security footage to see the screen. They could very well pick up on this detail and find it odd, but he had done it enough times before that it wouldn’t be too suspicious. He then paused for a few seconds, thinking about what the next step was. He had to hack into the building’s security system to get out of his room. This would cause a certain amount of panic among the people aware of his existence, which would make them less organized than usual, thus way easier to work his way around. But then what?

 _I want to see Nanami again._ The words that had just popped up in his head left him puzzled. He wasn’t sure where they even came from. Granted, this was all related to how he had been feeling since Munakata-sensei had had him play video games with her, but he had never thought about her as anything of importance in his reaction. And yet, she was the first thing that had come to his mind when he was figuring out how to get the answers he was seeking.

 _No, that doesn’t make any sense. I may want to see her, but I’ve never met her before. It’s impossible that I would want to see her ‘again.’ I need to slow down and think about this more clearly._ He wasn’t in denial about wanting to see her. He was good at everything one could be good at, after all. It would have been stupid to assume what his gut was telling him would be wrong. It could be illogical, just like it had been just then, but it couldn’t be wrong. In combination with his analytical abilities, he knew it would never fail him. That was why he would see Nanami. Where he would go from there was still unclear to him, but he would see her. And he would do it tonight so he wouldn’t have to worry about where to hide in the academy without Munakata-sensei, Sakakura or Gekkogahara finding him before he’d reach his goal. _Yes, this will be just fine. Nanami may not have the answers herself, but seeing her should be enough. I’ll only have to stay mindful and pay close attention to my reactions. I will be okay._

Having most of his plan figured out, Izuru got to work. He had never done any hacking before, but the academy’s security didn’t seem to be a problem to him. He focused on his screen, typing as fast as he could. If anyone had been watching him at that moment, they would have thought the scene was straight out of a movie. But this was what Izuru truly was. A being so talented that anything he did looked unreal, as if he were mere fiction. Any regular person would envy him and want to at least spend a day in his shoes. He truly understood why the person his body had once belonged to had decided to go through with the project, even if it meant that he had to give up on his normal life, his friends, his family, and anything else he may have grown attached to through the years. After all, someone as normal as him could not have predicted how boring it would be to know everything. If it hadn’t all been so predictable, Izuru would have found the situation ironic. The person he used to be had been bored of their regular life, and had given their body to Hope’s Peak academy with great hope that it would change everything for him. Instead, he’d only been turned into someone who was even more bored of everything, which made his vessel’s sacrifice meaningless. It could have sounded tragic to someone else, but to Izuru, that was boring, too.

Although his thoughts seemed to be straying from what he was originally focusing on, Izuru managed to deactivate the cameras in the building and make it impossible for the person in charge to use them again, if only for a few hours. He knew they would be trying for a while, only to realize they would need the Ultimate Programmer’s skills to regain control over the system. If they woke him up in the middle of the night, Izuru would have roughly four hours until they’d come and get him; if they didn’t, he had until the next morning. In both cases, he had enough time to see Nanami and not get caught. And even if he caught got, he could always run away. If there was anything Munakata-sensei and his team always forgot, it was that he had surrendered to them so he wouldn’t have to spend his boring existence around regular people. He had wanted to say at Hope’s Peak. They were no threat to him.

Izuru shut the laptop and kept it under his arm. They would be rushing to his room sooner or later, and leaving his laptop, with the program he had used to get rid of all security, would only make the staff’s task less of a struggle than he wanted it to be. Even if he knew he would end up safe from them in all scenarios, he didn’t want to make it easier for them. Pushing all unwanted thoughts aside – such as the voice in his head that kept telling him he wanted as much time as he could get with Nanami –, he slipped out of his room, and into the dark corridors of the staff’s building of Hope’s Peak academy. It was quite likely that people were already looking for him, but he didn’t care. He was not sure stealth was a talent, but if it was, they would have given him ultimate stealth. Reaching Nanami would be nothing but another boring and simple task for him.

He moved swiftly through the corridors, paying close attention to the sound of muffled voices and steps. He couldn’t exactly see the people who were looking for him, but they weren’t doing a good job of being quiet. They couldn’t hide themselves from him, but he could very well hide himself from them.

A few minutes later, Izuru was outside. His sleek black hair and suit blended in the background perfectly. That didn’t mean he could let down his guard, though. He wasn’t sure how many people were aware of his existence, but he knew for a fact that every single staff member had heard of him. This meant that Munakata-sensei could gather quite a large number of people to look for him, although most of them would have been asleep at this time. His teacher may have been a good leader, but he couldn’t wake everyone up at the snap of his fingers. Despite that, Izuru took a few seconds to scan his surroundings and figure out just how many people were already here. Once that was done, he headed to Nanami’s dorm room, curious as to why the thoughts in his head seemed to be racing along with his heartbeat. If he hadn’t been so disappointed with how easy it was to bypass the academy’s security, Izuru would have said that that night, for the first time since he’d woken up in the experimentation room, he felt excited. However, he wasn’t sure what any of it really meant.

He eventually reached Nanami’s room. He wasn’t too sure why, but Izuru just stood there for a while, as if he were… _nervous? Wait, I’m nervous?_ He shook his head, taking one more step towards the door. _That makes no sense. There is nothing to be nervous about. I’ve reached my goal, and no one can stop me now. It’s fine. I have no logical reason to feel this way._ And yet, Izuru’s hand was shaking as he closed his fist to knock on the door. This time he was sure of it. He was excited. He didn’t know why, but he was.

 _Enoshima intrigued me, but not to this extent,_ he recalled, staring at the closed door in front of him. He could sense that Nanami was still awake. All he had to do was wait for her to open the door. _There is no reason for me to feel this way about this now. Everything that happened with Enoshima was disappointing and boring. Logically, that should have been proof that nothing can go unpredicted by my talents. And yet, here I am, completely thrilled by what may or may not happen when she finally opens this door – what’s taking her so long anyway? Is she really so into the game she’s playing that she didn’t hear me knock? –, this almost feels stupid. I should probably walk back to my room and pretend like I was just trying to test my abilities when questioned about why I hacked into the security system and went on a little night walk. But all these irrational thoughts would keep bothering me if I didn’t see her. I really can’t comprehend why, but I know she holds the key to whatever it is I’ve been looking for since they created me. It will be okay. No matter what happens from now on, I’ll know how to deal with it. Nothing else will be able to disturb me. Once again, I have no idea why, but I am convinced of this._

Izuru had to knock on the door a second time and call her name before Nanami finally opened the door. At that moment, he knew something had changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, as always, for reading this. I know I say this at the end of every chapter but I'm really grateful. Thank you for the comments (which I take the time to read and try to repond to as much as I can) and kudos as well. I hope the chapter was up to whatever expectations I created by hyping it up a little when I posted the previous one, heh.


	6. Believing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoys this new chapter, because it feels like everyone has been waiting for this specific chapter since I posted the first one. Also wew, I managed to post a new chapter 3 days in a row!

Chiaki was still playing Gala Omega when she heard someone knock on her door. She didn’t expect anyone to come see her, especially not when it was already this late at night. She knew it was fairly safe to open the door at any time of the day or night, given the level of security within the academy, but she didn’t feel like dealing with anyone at the moment. She felt safe, in her own bubble, playing her favorite game. After everything that had happened today, it was only right for her to indulge in this. When she heard more knocks on her door, she realized whoever was here wouldn’t let her have the only peaceful moment she had managed to have today. Yet, she still believed that if she ignored them enough they’d go away, eventually.

“Nanami, please.”

_Huh? That voice… It sounds like Hinata-kun’s,_ she thought, setting her console down on her bed and getting up. She was almost certain she was hallucinating at that point, but se walked towards the door, just to make sure. _If there is no one behind this door, I will e-mail Gekkogahara-san right away. It’s merely been a day and things have only been getting worse._

She grabbed her keys, unlocked the door and reached for the door handle, hesitating as she grabbed it. She felt nervous. _If Hinata-kun is really here, that means… No, he won’t be here. He wouldn’t come back like this. It wouldn’t make any sense. He wouldn’t have been able to have access to the dorms as a reserve course student, anyway. I’m probably just going crazy from not having anyone to talk to about him._ She took a deep breath and opened the door. She was surprised by a tall, dark silhouette. If it hadn’t been for the crimson red color of the eyes that seemed to be seeing right through her, she would have thought she was having a nightmares. She stared at the man who was standing right in front of her, studying him.

“Hinata-kun… You’re Hinata-kun, right?” she spoke softly. She had no idea what was going anymore. He looked exactly like Hinata-kun, but he also didn’t. His hair was too long, and much darker than she remembered it. His eyes were also the wrong color, although their bright irises stood out the way Hinata-kun’s had. His shoulders also looked slightly broader. Everything else was exactly the same, though. This only reinforced Chiaki’s belief that whoever was standing there could not actually be real. 

“I’m Izuru Kamukura, but it’s possible I used to be the Hinata you’re speaking of.” He paused, and Chiaki blinked in confusion. What he was telling her sounded like a video game plot twist. And yet, with how similar Kamukura-san and Hinata-kun were, she didn’t really question it. She believed him, even though she had always had a hard time trusting and believing people she didn’t know. “I can tell you more if you let me in,” he continued. “Munakata-sensei and Sakakura will probably be here soon.”

Chiaki stepped away from the door frame and let him in, shutting and locking the door behind him, completely dumbfounded. If Munakata-san and Sakakura-san were looing for him, he was quite likely a dangerous individual. She had no reason to trust him, and letting him in and locking the door behind him was, beyond doubt, a mistake. Despite that, she wasn’t scared. She felt safer than she had for an entire year. _It’s probably because this isn’t real_ , she thought. _I should contact Gekkogahara-san._

“Nanami.”

“Huh?”

“Promise me you won’t open the door if they come here.”

“Okay,” she said, grabbing her phone and reaching for the piece of paper she had been given earlier.

“Nanami, you don’t need this. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know,” she turned to him and smiled. “It’s just that since you’re not real and I can hear and see you I want to get the help I need. I know I miss Hinata-kun a lot, but I can’t let myself believe that I am talking to some sort of alternate version of him that my mind entirely made up, do you understand? I’ve wanted to talk to you again for so long, but this isn’t right.”

“Nanami, I’m real. I may not be Hinata anymore, but you’re not imagining any of this. You can… touch me, just to be sure,” he answered. At that moment, Kamukura-san’s facial expression was so similar to that of Hinata’s when he was feeling nervous or uncomfortable that Chiaki was hit with another wave of sweet and yet painful memories that she had been trying to repress ever since she had lost hope in ever seeing him again.

She hesitantly took a few steps towards him, thinking that he would disappear if she touched him. She had no idea if that truly was the case, but she didn’t assume that one could physically touch and feel whatever their imagination wanted them to see. That was why she had to do it. She had to do just what he’d suggested so she could stop seeing him, contact Gekkogahara-san and sleep until she could see her and get help. After all, her brain had entirely made up this Izuru Kamukura person, so there was a chance that it would, through him, tell her what to do to make him disappear.

Her shaky and small, pale hand moved towards him. As she tried to reach his shoulder, she realized that he was as tall as Hinata-kun. This shouldn’t have surprised her, but it still did. Every time she found yet another similarity between the two men, her heart skipped a beat, only to start racing again right after.

Her hand eventually landed on his shoulder, and she gasped. She could feel him. There was another person who looked and behaved very much like Hinata-kun in her room. She wasn’t sure what to make of any of this, and she was starting to feel dizzy again. This was strangely similar to what she had experienced when talking to Sakakura-san earlier. Only this time, she didn’t want to run away. She wanted to stay here. She wanted to know how this was even possible. But most of all, she wanted to talk to Izuru Kamukura. As she mentally said his name, it all clicked.

“Wait, you’re Izukura, aren’t you?”

**XXXXXXX**

Izuru had expected many things from Nanami, but he wasn’t prepared for her to question his existence. Instead, he had assumed she would have been scared, hurt, angry, or all three at the same time. Her thinking she was imagining him was something he would have never envisioned. There was another thing he hadn’t come prepared for: his own reaction to seeing her. The second he spotted the little spaceship pinning a few strands of pink hair out of her face, he was shaken to the core. He understood very well that he had once been the Hinata she kept mentioning, and that they had been relatively close.

When Nanami touched him to make sure he was real, she looked fragile, as though her body could have broken into pieces right there in front of him. He felt the urge to protect her, to make her feel safe. There was something in the way she moved – or was it in Hinata’s memories of her? – that told him she wasn’t always like this; that there was a time when her face looked brighter, and her moves were not as slow and shaky. And he wanted to see her like that. Once again, he wasn’t sure why, but he wanted it.

“Yes, I am Izukura,” he eventually answered, after leaving her question up in the air for a few seconds.

“Was it really boring?”

“Playing games together?” He looked at her and she nodded. “Yes, but everything is boring to me.”

“So why did you keep playing with me?” She sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at him as if there were something wrong with him.

“Because that was my activity for the day,” he said dryly, confused as to why she was pursuing this rather than who he was or why he had come to see her. For the first time since he’d woken up as Izuru, he was having trouble predicting someone else’s reactions. “Why do you want to know about this? Shouldn’t you care more about why I’m here?”

“Ah, that’s right. I’m sorry, I had just never met anyone who thought games were boring before, and it was even more surprising since you beat me at them.” Izuru studied her face. For a second there, he had thought she could have been putting on an act, but her facial expression told him otherwise. She definitely was an interesting person. “So, why did you—”

Someone knocked on the door and Nanami stopped talking. He could tell that despite his instructions from earlier, she didn’t know what she was supposed to do. He placed his finger over his lips, trying to make her understand that they needed to stay quiet for now. She responded by a quick nod. He knew he had made a mistake by not telling her to keep the lights off, but he hoped – no, he predicted – that whoever was there would end up assuming that Nanami had just fallen asleep with the lights on. After all, the Ultimate Gamer seemed absentminded enough to do something like this.

Izuru kept staring at Nanami until he stopped sensing other person’s presence behind the door, almost chuckling to himself when he realized she had picked up her console and started playing again regardless of what was happening around her. Her big, round, pink eyes were focused on the screen, while her fingers were swiftly hitting the controls. She seemed so absorbed in the game that he felt like he was invisible to her. He noticed that her face looked less ghostly than it had when she had first seen him, which reassured him. This didn’t rid him of his want to protect her, but at least she was okay. She had probably been shocked by his resemblance with Hinata. This also explained why she had questioned whether he was real or not for the first ten minutes they had spent together.

This went on for around twenty minutes, with the person behind the door – who, given the intensity with which they were hitting it, was most likely Sakakura – pounding it every two to three minutes. They eventually gave up and left, and Izuru started talking again, just to let Nanami know. She didn’t have all his abilities, so there was no real way for her to know if they were still standing there or not.

“They’re gone. We should be safe until morning. If they weren’t willing to wake you up to make sure I wasn’t with you, they won’t wake up the Ultimate Programmer to fix the security system.”

“Why are you running away from them?” Chiaki asked, her eyes glued to the screen.

“I’m not supposed to leave my room, or let anyone know about my existence outside of a select few. Haven’t you heard about the killing game that took place between the members of the student council?”

“All I know is that Junko Enoshima was responsible for it. What happened was scary, sure. But I didn’t know any of them and whoever made them do it is long gone, so I didn’t care that much about it. I know she tried to frame someone else for this, but no one ever said who it was, as far as I know. It would make sense for Munakata-san to try and protect an innocent student by hiding their identity.”

“So you’ve never heard my name before?” He wasn’t sure why he was the one asking her questions when he was supposed to be the one who knew everything, but it felt like the right thing to do.

“Not really. It does sound familiar, though. You share your name with the founder of Hope’s Peak… I think.” Winning yet another game, she turned off the console and set it in her lap. She looked at Izuru, which arose even more reactions he couldn’t comprehend within him. His cheeks felt slightly warmer, and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes on her. Still, he knew he needed to keep his composure and hide this from her. She seemed to feel comfortable enough to talk to him, and he couldn’t risk ruining that.

“Correct. They named me after him,” he paused, waiting for her to speak only to notice that she was actually waiting for him to continue, still staring at him. “Well, I was never told this but judging by the reaction you had upon seeing me, it’s safe to assume I used to be Hinata. From what I’ve been told, the person I used to be – Hinata – signed up for the hope cultivation project, which was supposed to give him every single talent known to man, thus turning him into the Ultimate Hope. They erased his memories and carried on with what they had promised him. As a result, I was created.” He swallowed, pausing again just to make sure Nanami was still okay. “This was a secret project and only the people involved in it knew about me, until Munakata-sensei stopped Enoshima and took over the academy. I’ve just been confined to my room and testing my abilities ever since,” he finished, purposefully leaving out the part about his short-lived association to Enoshima, thinking that since he hadn’t exactly done anything himself, Nanami didn’t need to know about it.

The pastel pink-haired girl was silent for a moment, during which Izuru tried to think about anything else he could have added to his story, though nothing else seemed relevant. He knew regular people usually discussed hobbies and aspirations when meeting for the first time, but he didn’t have any. The only thing he had felt was boredom, and that pressing need to be with her. The former was nothing to write home about, while talking about the latter felt embarrassing. So, Izuru remained silent. After all, what he had just explained to her was a lot to take in, even for an Ultimate. She probably only needed a few minutes to wrap her head around it.

“So you don’t remember me at all?” was all she said when she finally spoke again. Her voice was soft and gentle, but Izuru could sense a hint of sadness in it. He did not like it.

“This is the only thing I’ve ever been confused about,” he admitted, his eyes straying from Nanami’s to stare at the wooden flooring of her dorm room. “I don’t remember the time we spent together, but you feel… familiar, even though it’s the first time we’ve met like this. It’s illogical, but I do feel like I know you somehow.”

_And I want to spend time with you, Nanami. I don’t generally feel threatened or unsafe when I’m alone, but you seem to bring me some sense of comfort that I haven’t felt before,_ he added mentally. Not only was the thought flustering, he also knew Nanami wasn’t ready to hear anything like this. This was better left unsaid. They both stayed quiet for a moment, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Izuru hoped that when it would be time for him to go, she would tell him that she wanted to see him again. He was aware that any sane person would not want to get to know him, or to spend more time with him than necessary, but Nanami’s actions and reactions had been so irrational that he was practically sure she would say exactly what he wanted to hear. That was why he had already thought of a plan to make it happen. But until it was time for him to go, Izuru felt as though they had a bit of catching up to do. So, he opened his mouth again, and tried to start a conversation with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know finishing a sentence by "I think." is something AI Chiaki does, but my headcanon is that she didn't do it because she was an AI, but because human!Chiaki did it as well. It's pretty clear from the dr3 anime that she isn't the most confident ultimate, so it would make sense. 
> 
> And as always, thank you for the comments and kudos!


	7. Progressing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating this for the past few days, I've had things to take care of irl. It also doesn't help that sitting in front of my computer screen gives me headaches (really starting to think I might need glasses, lol). So yes, I suppose that this is your warning that since I went back to university yesterday, updates will be a little slower than they used to be now. Classes are only actually starting on the 14th but I have a lot of administrative stuff to take care of until then. I'll try to not end the upcoming chapters on cliffhangers to not make anyone too impatient for updates!

Kamukura-kun was unusually talkative that morning. Miaya focused her glance on him as she listened to him explain where he had gone off to on the previous night:

“I trust you to not share this past with Munakata-sensei. You would gain nothing from telling him about this, anyway.”

He paused for a moment, as if he were waiting for her to confirm that she would keep his story a secret from Munakata-kun. She wasn’t sure if hiding it mattered much – her former classmate would have been a complete idiot if he hadn’t guessed where Kamukura-kun had spent the night – but part of her really wanted to go against the orders, since the person ordering her around was constantly going behind her back. She didn’t exactly like how confident Kamukura-kun was, though. Knowing he could predict and guess what was going on in her head made her feel uneasy at times. Yet, she knew she couldn’t refuse.

“This will be our little secret, Kamukura-kun!” Usami’s voice excitedly responded.

“After I deactivated the security system, I saw Nanami.” Izuru paused for a few seconds, during which she thought that he didn’t have to tell her that. Given everything that had happened in the past few days, it was pretty obvious. “I really want to see her again but I need you—”

“Why?” It was unusual for her to interrupt a client in the middle of a sentence, but Miaya had to this time. When she met Nanami-chan yesterday, she had looked so fragile, as if she were going through as much distress as the people she usually worked with. She had to make sure Kamukura-kun had the right intentions. Despite the liking she had taken for him, she knew he used to be involved with Enoshima.

“I can’t predict some of her reactions, or my reactions to her, even. She makes things a little less boring.” She noted that he seemed to be searching for the right words; another thing he had never done before. Today was definitely different. “It’s like there this other person in my head that’s screaming at me to just spend more time with her. I can’t explain that either. But I believe I enjoy that feeling.”

Miaya smiled behind her scarf. Deep down, she knew Kamukura-kun’s sudden changes weren’t happening thanks to her and her work with him, but she couldn’t help feeling happy about what was happening. Ever since she had found out about it, she hadn’t been much of a believer in the concept of the Ultimate Hope, and her scepticism had increased upon her first meeting with Kamukura-kun. In spite of this, seeing him like this, acting of his own free will, made her feel as if he had what it took to live a normal life within the academy. She still wasn’t sure the existence of the Ultimate Hope was possible, but she knew Kamukura-kun could feel hope regardless of what had been done to him by the academy. That was more than enough for her.

“I imagine you need me to be able to see her again safely,” Usami’s voice added. “How can I be of help?”

“You might not need to do anything. It will be up to Nanami. I instructed her to email you before the end of the day. She will tell you if she wants to spend time with me too,” he explained. _That means he’s not even sure she wants to see him like he wants to see her. Kamukura-kun doesn’t know_ something, _and he seems to feeling better than when he knew everything about what was happening around him_. “If she accepts, I expect you to bring her here at night. I can’t have her missing classes to see me. People would easily notice it. All you’d really have to do is convince Munakata-sensei that you can’t check on me in the morning anymore. I can alter the security cameras in such a way that they’d be showing past recordings to whoever is monitoring me as soon as Nanami enters the building.”

Miaya didn’t have to think twice before accepting. No matter who she was helping, she only wanted one thing for them: to be free of the things that were hindering their personal growth. And during the previous night, very much like a butterfly cracking through its cocoon, Kamukura-kun had freed himself and spread his wings out to the world around him. Taking one last glance at him before exiting the room, she noticed that the crimson shade of his eyes had slightly changed; it seemed brighter and more lively than she remembered. _He definitely is a lofty red butterfly,_ she said to herself, closing the door behind her to head back to her own office.

As the rest of her day happened, Miaya found herself refreshing her e-mails a lot more than she was used to. She didn’t really have much more to do and felt strangely involved in whatever was going on between Nanami-chan and Kamukura-kun. She knew having close ties with someone couldn’t fix everything – it could even make things worse in some cases – but it wasn’t entirely useless either. At the same time, she could only imagine how rough this would be for Nanami-chan. But if she decided to welcome Kamukura-kun in her own life, she would be able to help her process and accept what had happened to her former friend, his vessel. No matter what she would choose to do, Nanami-chan would be safe. On the other hand, there was only one scenario that could help Kamukura-kun. That was why, as selfish as it may have been, Miaya wanted the Ultimate Gamer to accept what Kamukura-kun was offering her.

_This is strange, though,_ Miaya thought, lowering her scarf to take a deep breath. This was something she only did when she was alone. _Matsuda-kun’s talent and knowledge were beyond compare. I can’t believe he didn’t figure out a way to entirely erase people’s memories. To see Kamukura-kun relatively remember Nanami-chan feels almost… wrong, in that sense. I may not understand neurology and neuroscience as well as he did, but I need to know how, and why, this is even happening. I might be putting Matsuda-kun on a pedestal here, but I can’t believe he would have gone through with something without perfecting it beforehand._

She glanced at one of her desk’s drawers. Even though she had promised herself not to do this until she were ready and wasn’t positive as to whether she was, she felt she had to do it now. This was the only place where she had the slight chance to find a hint of an answer anyway. She slipped her hand into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out a small key. Inserting it and twisting it, she unlocked the drawer and retrieved the notebook she had kept there since she had found out about Matsuda-kun’s death. She had been extremely surprised to find such a thing in his lab, especially after Munakata-kun and Sakakura-kun had already searched the place for more information on the hope cultivation plan and Matsuda-kun’s various research projects. Her late friend had kept a journal throughout his life at Hope’s Peak academy, which, considering how well it was concealed, probably contained information no one knew about. If she wanted to do everything that was in her power for Kamukura-kun in any event, it was time for her to dig through it, no matter how painful that may be.

The young woman flipped through the pages, paying close attention to the various notes and sketches. The messy handwriting that was covering the pages amused her. Even when away from others, Matsuda-kun was the unruly and almost chaotic individual she had befriended. Most of the content of his journal was complex information on the procedures he had come up with – along with a few lines about his relationship with Enoshima, which Miaya tried to ignore, out of respect for him – but she was able to understand the gist of it. It looked like Matsuda-kun’s memory erasing technique basically was some type of brain surgery that consisted in the removal of neural connections in the hippocampus. She didn’t really grasp the details – something about glutamate and NMDA receptors – but she kept reading, trying to gather as much information as she could, and cursing Matsuda-kun for not being clearer in his explanations every now and then. She eventually reached a page that lacked any scientific data or sketches, which caught her attention.

_She loves despair, but she loves me. In the hope that the hope cultivation plan can be of any good use for the world, I’ll do what she wants from me. I’ll make her forget who she is and what she’s done. And we’ll start all over. She won’t have to be like this anymore. I always thought luck was bullshit, but I truly feel lucky that I haven’t been able to find out how to completely erase all past feelings from people’s brains. Maybe it’s better if I never find out. Well, I’m not sure yet, but it can only be good for her. She won’t remember anything, but as soon as she sees me when she wakes up from the procedure, her heart will remember. It’ll send a clue to her brain. A clue that tells her she feels something for me. Maybe I can save her. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty and killing the remaining survivor if it means I can protect her. She doesn’t have to do this anymore. She can just be with me as Ryouko. I don’t need Junko; no one really does. It’ll be okay. As for Kamukura, I can only hope he has someone who means as much to him as I mean to her._

Miaya beamed to herself. This was the answer she had been seeking. Matsuda-kun hadn’t managed to get rid of emotional memories in his subjects. It had been accidental for Kamukura-kun, but he had ended up realizing that it may be crucial in saving him thanks to something Enoshima had asked from him a few weeks after the completion of the hope cultivation plan. _You loved her, and it’s still hard to accept,_ she thought, looking to the ceiling like she always done when mentally talking to him, _but you were a good person. They made you do this. You had to. Thank you for leaving this behind, Matsuda-kun._

She brought her attention back to the journal, wanting to know more. If Kamukura-kun could change by being around Nanami-chan, she would need an ally. She didn’t want to rely on her former classmates. They had broken her trust several times; she had only remained loyal to them because she thought her monitoring Kamukura-kun was what was best for him. Besides, even though Kamukura-kun’s plans were always perfect thanks to his analytical abilities, she had a hunch that his bond with Nanami-chan wouldn’t progress much if they only met at night in the exact same setting. This wasn’t something the journal explicitly said, but expanding on a few details, Miaya gathered that normal interactions were necessary for everything to work out properly. That also explained why an online interaction through video games had been enough to trigger Kamukura-kun’s buried memories. He didn’t only need to see her. Going through experiences similar to what they used to do together was also necessary.

It was almost night-time when she finished reading the journal. She peered through her window, thinking about everything she had learned about how the academy was run when Kirigiri-san was still the headmaster. She found it somewhat sad that the poor man hardly had any power over his own academy, considering he had abandoned his famous detective family and his young daughter to be able to focus on it. Kirigiri-san got screwed over by the steering committee and Tengan-san. That situation had obviously been worse than what she had been going through with Munakata-kun and the people he kept closest to him – she wasn’t supposed to be in charge, after all – but she found a few similarities here and there.

She would probably end up wreaking havoc within the academy the way Munakata-san had when he found out Enoshima, but it was necessary. Kirigiri-san needed to be headmaster again. She could give him the position again if he accepted to consider Kamukura-kun a regular ultimate, making him a student in one of the classes of the main course. She wasn’t exactly sure how to reach him now, but rumors had spread that he was still hiding somewhere at Hope’s Peak. Whether this was true or not, she had time to figure this out. It was her little secret project and she didn’t have to rush it.

_Spying on Munakata-kun for all these months may have been wrong, but at least now the power is in my hands. I don’t want it, but this academy needs to be fixed for good. Blackmailing is wrong, too, but if Munakata-kun hadn’t given me a fairly high position in the security team of the academy on top of my therapist duties, I wouldn’t have picked up on his suspicious behavior with Yukizome-chan. I shouldn’t feel guilty for what I plan on doing, it’s in everyone’s best in—_

A notification coming from the laptop that was sitting on top of her task snapped her out of her thoughts. She glanced at the screen and smiled. The e-mail from Nanami-chan, that she had been anxiously waiting for, had finally arrived. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of trivia here:  
> \- Miaya's "how can I be of help?" is actually the title of a chapter of a book by Carl Rogers, the founder of client-centered therapy.   
> \- The hippocampus, NMDA receptors and glutamate are the main reasons why we are able to learn (and thus memorize things). Just like Miaya, I'm no big fan of neuroscience, I have to take classes about it -- I'm a psych student for God's sake, why are they torturing me like this? ;_; -- so that made writing this little bit about how the memory erasing procedure may work a little easier.  
> \- I wouldn't call Miaya a self-insert, but I'm writing her the way I imagine the perfect psychologist/therapist (basically what I aspire to be once I get my degree) and I hope this isn't too out of character for her. Given that we only see her controlled by Monaca in canon, I'm not sure it even is possible to write her out of character, but some of you may disagree. 
> 
> And as always, thanks for reading, giving kudos, and commenting! (Wew, this was a much longer note than usual)


	8. Fussing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that updates should be semi-regular throughout this week. After that, I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I'll let you guys know as soon as I know more about what my schedule for classes is going to look like.   
> I'm pretty frustrated with how my university seems to have nothing figured out. Hell, they don't even know if classes will be online or if we'll have to attend physically, and it's all supposed to start next week. So annoying. Not that you guys should care, but I love complaining hehe.

When Kamukura-kun left, Chiaki was overwhelmed. Everything he had told her during the hours they had spent together had been, understandably, a lot to process. She wasn’t even sure where to begin. On top of that, she had to be in class in two hours. Kamukura-kun had insisted that no matter how tired she was, she couldn’t skip. It was important for her to keep behaving as per usual; if she didn’t, people would have grown suspicious. She understood, but it felt unfair. It was easy for him, after all. Even if he was the one taking all these risks to see her, he had all these talents on his side. Besides, other than Munakata-san, he didn’t really have to lie to anyone else. That was without mentioning that he didn’t have to grieve the loss of a former close friend. He didn’t remember Hinata-kun, but she did. And despite how similar they were, she knew he and Kamukura-kun were not the same person. In a way, Kamukura-kun walking into her life like this felt like it was too much. It had been fine when he was in her room with her, but right now, Chiaki wasn’t sure anymore.

Stepping under the shower, hoping it would help her feel energized enough to go through the day despite of her staying up all night with Kamukura-kun, she let her mind wander. _At least I have closure, now. I know what happened to Hinata-kun, and why he suddenly disappeared. It pains me to think that I couldn’t get him to realize that his lack of talent didn’t matter to me, but it’s too late now. He’s been Kamukura-kun for a year. I have to accept it. As hard to believe as this whole story is, I think I do. There are too many traces of Hinata-kun in Kamukura-kun for it to be fake, anyway. But this is tough. I don’t know if I can handle this much. I know he told me he has a plan for us to see each other again, but I don’t know if I even want to see him again. I don’t even know what his plan implies, so how am I supposed to agree to it?_

Despite all her doubts and questions, Chiaki felt inexplicably drawn to Kamukura-kun. His crimson gaze made her feel vulnerable but safe at the same time, as if she were meant to let her guard down around him. _If only this were an otome game,_ she sighed. _Even when I make the wrong choice in these,_ _I can always go back in time and try another route._

On the other hand, she knew she owed Kamukura-kun an answer. She felt partly responsible for Hinata-kun’s decision to go through with whatever experimentation had turned him into the person she had met yesterday. If she had been more assertive and had confessed to him on the last evening she had seen him, she would have had a chance to stop him from doing this to himself. She wasn’t overridden with guilt, but she still felt like things were partly her fault.

Kamukura-kun had given her until tonight to make her decision. Afterwards, she were to contact Gekkogahara-san and inform her of what she wanted to do. He had explained to her that if anyone could help them make things go right, it was her. Given her position in the academy, she would only have their best interest in mind. Chiaki hoped he wasn’t wrong. She knew that with all his abilities and talents, there was little to no chance of him ever being wrong about anything, but after he’d told her about the hope cultivation plan, she had lost faith in Hope’s Peak. She knew the people behind the project were no longer in charge, but she couldn’t shake away the feeling that Munakata-san and the people around him weren’t much better. They were the ones keeping Kamukura-kun hidden, weren’t they?

It's with her head full of unanswered questions that the Ultimate Gamer showed up to class that day. It’s with the same questions plaguing her mind that she exited her classroom without waving goodbye to anyone. She didn’t feel like it. She knew none of them had a clue what was going on behind the scenes, but she thought it was unfair for them to be so happy to be studying in this academy when it was that same academy that had turned Hinata-kun into the person she had met last night. Besides, Yukizome-sensei was Munakata-san’s girlfriend, wasn’t she? How could she let him do what he was doing to Kamukura-kun?

Focused on yet another game of Gala Omega, Chiaki absentmindedly walked towards the fountain where she and Hinata-kun used to meet up to play games. She sat down on the bench, completely ignoring her surroundings. She knew the sky was a bright shade of orange at that time of the day, but she didn’t want to look at it. She didn’t want to be reminded of the fact that she would never see those same colors surrounding Hinata-kun’s emerald eyes – even if she decided to keep Kamukura-kun in her life, his eyes were now a bright red. She liked red; she dearly missed green.

_I need to make a decision now, no matter how difficult this is. I don’t like having to rush it, but I can’t let him down again by missing the deadline._ Chiaki turned off her GameGirl advance and pulled out her phone. She opened the e-mail app, quickly typing in Gekkogahara-san’s address. She had done this so many times today that she didn’t need to look at the paper the Ultimate Therapist had given her on the previous day. _I have to do this. I can’t change what happened in the past and Hinata-kun can’t come back. Kamukura-kun, on the other hand, is right here. He’s… He’s the future, I think. That’s right, Hinata-kun is the past and I can’t change him nor what happened to him. Kamukura-kun is the future, and if I choose him, I have an opportunity to change things for him. I don’t know how much I can do, but if I just try, things will turn out okay, right? I can… I can be there for him._ She steadied her grip on her phone, trying to calm herself down. What she was about to do was scary. She had no idea how things would turn out, but she had hope. She had hope that she and Kamukura-kun would get along regardless of how bored he had told her he was last night. She had hope that she could find something that would prevent him from being so bored all the time. She had hope that things would be okay, at last. And compared to when she had decided to stop waiting for Hinata-kun, she had a concrete idea of what she had to do to make them okay.

Chiaki took a deep breath and began typing the e-mail she’d known she would end up sending all along.

_Dear Gekkogahara-san,_

_Thank you for all the work you have been doing with Kamukura-kun. He has only had praise for you, unlike the rest of the people aware of his existence. I’m glad he has had someone he could rely on through all of it. I understand he doesn’t need it, considering all the things he can do now, but I get the feeling you’ve kept him in check somehow. Besides, he trusts you. He doesn’t seem to trust many people. Maybe it’s because he knows exactly what they’re going to do despite what they’re telling him._

_This decision has been hard to make. I was angry they’ve taken Hinata-kun away from me. I was sad I would never see him again. And part of me was afraid I wouldn’t be able to accept Kamukura-kun. For a while I thought I might just try to turn him into Hinata-kun, if that makes sense. I don’t think that would have been fair to him. This morning I almost sent you an e-mail to tell you I didn’t want to see him again. In retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t. I don’t think I’ll change my mind again, but I think you need to know these things. I will be honest about all of this with Kamukura-kun next time I see him as well._

_I know Kamukura-kun isn’t Hinata-kun. They’re similar and yet quite different. I don’t mind it, though. I’m willing to take Kamukura-kun as he is, and to be his friend. I think the fact he sort of remembers me in spite of everything that’s happened to him means that me being around him is important in some way I can’t comprehend. And since I couldn’t stop him from going through with this stupid project last year, I feel like I owe him this. So, I’ll be there for him. I accept whatever Kamukura-kun is offering. I have no doubt that his plan is flawless and will not make us run any unnecessary risks._

_I’m not sure why I’ve told you all this when a simple ‘I accept seeing Kamukura-kun again’ would have been enough. Well, as the former Ultimate Therapist, you probably know why I thought it was necessary for me to fill you in on all the details._

_I look forward to hearing from you, and to seeing Kamukura-kun again._

_Regards,_

_Nanami Chiaki – class 77._

Chiaki quickly pressed the send button without even proofreading what she had just written. She wanted Gekkogahara-san to be able to know how she really felt about what she was going to do. She turned her gaze to the fountain and noticed a red butterfly flying above the water, seemingly avoiding the water coming from the sprays. Chiaki smiled to herself as she thought about how similar the color of its wings was to that of Kamukura-kun’s eyes.

**XXXXXXX**

Sitting on the edge of his bed with one foot resting atop it and his arm draped over his knee, Izuru closely watched what was happening on his laptop screen. He knew it wasn’t what Munakata-sensei had told him to do today, but he no longer cared. He had never been afraid of him, but he felt stronger, and possibly bolder now that Nanami knew about his existence and everything that had happened to his vessel. Besides, he could predict that big things were going to happen. On the screen, Gekkogahara looked like she had just learned about something important, while Nanami seemed lost in thought despite everything going on around her. He hadn’t decided to spy on them today because he distrusted them – no, he knew they would both be loyal to him, even if he still couldn’t accurately predict what Nanami’s final decision regarding spending time with him would be. Instead, he had wanted to make sure they were safe from Munakata-sensei and Sakakura. Neither of them appeared to know anything about the scheming he had been up to, but Gekkogahara lacked many of his talents, and he still felt that urge to protect Nanami. That was why he had, once again, hacked into the surveillance system of the academy.

Every now and then, he also made sure to take note of Sakakura’s location. He knew Munakata-sensei wouldn’t dare get his hands dirty. He needed to keep his record and reputation clean if he wanted to stay on top of Hope’s Peak, after all. His right-hand man, on the other hand, was ready to do anything for him. And he was so incredibly stupid it made him dangerous. Izuru still couldn’t wrap his head around how he could have fallen for Munakata-sensei’s fake confession to him when he had told on Enoshima. It was clear the cold, white-haired man didn’t care about anything except his own success, and Yukizome, to a certain extent. Still, Izuru knew what he felt towards Nanami’s homeroom teacher was not love. If he’d loved her, he would have tried to save her instead of hiding what had happened to her from everyone in the academy.

Even though he was aware of all of this, Izuru didn’t care. Their stories bored him. There was nothing interesting about any of it; it was all too predictable to someone like him. Sure, it was baffling how they all thought they were so much better than the regular people dwelling in the reserve course or outside of the academy, but even that disdain was to be expected from people with talent, no matter how irrelevant and silly that talent may be.

Despite what he felt towards them, and even though he was far more talented than they would ever be, Izuru didn’t believe he was above them when it came to morals. Everything he had done with Enoshima had only happened because he had been bored and wanted to test boundaries. As for what he was doing to be with Nanami, he still didn’t understand it well enough to claim he had no bad or questionable intentions. It still shook him to see that he couldn’t figure any of it out. Given that it was what had pushed him to try to see her during the previous night, Izuru had a feeling that what he was doing wasn’t entirely commendable or selfless. It did not bother him, though. As long as he wasn’t attempting to hurt her, there was nothing so bad about wanting to get rid of that nagging boredom that followed him everywhere.

On his screen, Nanami got off her chair and hurriedly left her classroom. Izuru wasn’t sure, but it seemed unlike her to just leave like that without paying attention to the people around her. This reaction of hers was quite likely due to the ultimatum he had given her, which made him feel… _guilty? Was that actually guilt?_ Izuru wasn’t sure, but he still made a mental note to apologize to her for making her feel like this if he saw her again. Even if he didn’t, he could still message her on one of the games’ chatting system and explain to her that he understood why she wanted nothing to do with him after everything that had happened and— _wait, why do I care about this? Granted, she’s definitely the type of person who would feel horrible for letting me down, especially since she thinks my vessel went through this experiment because she wasn’t able to convince him that he was more than enough without talent. But why on earth would I care about that?_

Nanami was most definitely making him feel things that were unusual. Of course, he hadn’t been living as himself for very long, but he knew for a fact that most people his age experienced all these things on a regular basis. He simply knew so much about the world around him that he didn’t. This newfound confusion was exciting. Izuru wholly welcomed it.

Moving a few strands of hair out of his face, Izuru frowned. Nanami was nowhere to be found on the security footage, which worried him. There were no cameras in the individual dorm rooms, so every student could have their privacy, but he hadn’t spotted her in the corridor leading to her room. He felt a little uneasy. She had left her classroom fifteen minutes ago; something had to be wrong. She should have been in that corridor at least ten minutes ago.

He quickly checked the recording coming from Munakata-sensei’s office, which granted him relief. Both he and Sakakura were still in there. It looked like there were fighting. _Good. That should keep them busy until I can be sure Nanami is safe. I can’t afford to go on a stroll in broad daylight. It would be good if they kept doing this until she goes back to her dorm._ He paused, attentively studying the expressions on the men’s faces, guessing what the fight was about. _Ah, Sakakura is growing tired of waiting for Munakata-sensei. Well, this was bound to happen. The poor man is too impulsive and abrasive to wait forever after his heartfelt confession. And he’s too blinded by his feelings towards him that he has no idea he’s been lied to. Munakata-sensei needs him around to do the dirty work, though. He’ll take whatever time is necessary to calm him down. This is fine. Nanami will be safe._

Izuru calmly breathed in and out, keeping his attention on the view he had of the corridor leading to Nanami’s room. He was feeling slightly nervous, but knowing she wouldn’t have to go through another uncomfortable encounter with Sakakura helped. He didn’t have to worry about her safety anymore. The only concern left on his mind was whether she’d accept to spend time with him. She was most likely figuring this out in a place where she used to spend time with Hinata. He would get the answer he was almost impatiently waiting for the next morning, when Gekkogahara would begin her daily check-up. Izuru closed his eyes. This was a little bit more difficult than what he was used to, but he knew he could wait. Nanami was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was pretty fun to write, for some reason. It was also easier than the past 3. I'm not too sure why, but I hope it stays this way until I finish this fic. From the outline I've written, we have 4 chapters left, but I might end up writing a few more, who knows?
> 
> Am I the only one who feels like canon Kyosuke only keeps the people useful to him around him? I know he doesn't get a lot of screentime in the anime (and even those who do suffer from pretty poor/rushed writing), but that's the idea I got from him. Not sure how accurate it is, though.


	9. Teaming up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this was a pain in the butt to write, let me tell you. As a result, this chapter will probably be mark a drop in quality, and I'm sorry about that. I promise you guys next chapter will be much better!  
> Here's another apology for not being able to give you more info regarding my updating schedule.

Kizakura-san hadn’t changed one bit since she had last seen him. Miaya had never been too fond of him – he had been her teacher back in the day, and he’d always struck her as too carefree and lazy – but she didn’t dislike him either. She had been extremely surprised when she found out that he wasn’t giving up on his position as talent scout for the academy back when Munakata-kun exposed Enoshima and how the academy was going to let her get away with what she’d been doing. Kizakura-san was the one who had scouted her, and it wasn’t entirely clear if he knew she was Ultimate Despair or not. He had claimed he had no idea, and somehow, everyone went along with it.

The blond man brought his flask to his lips, taking a sip of whiskey before setting it back on his desk.

“I assume you aren’t here to tell me about how much you miss having to go through homeroom with me,” he said. “That would be unlike you, Gekkogahara-san.”

Miaya began typing a response, but Kizakura-san cut her off.

“Now, now, no need for this. Let me hear you speak, just like you did when I scouted you.”

Miaya rolled her eyes and sighed. That was the type of person Kizakura-san was. He wasn’t disrespectful per say, but he’d always had a thing for pushing boundaries. That was one of the reasons why he was always drinking alcohol when he was working.

“You’re right,” she said softly, the sound of her own voice surprising her. It was raspy and hesitant. She’d always hated it. “I’m here to talk about Kirigiri-san.”

Speaking wasn’t easy, but she could do it. She adjusted her scarf over her mouth, making sure it would muffle the sounds coming out of it. There had been a time where she wasn’t able to do such a simple things – an anomaly in the vocal chords had kept her unable to speak until her parents could afford to pay for a surgical procedure to fix it, when she was around thirteen years old. She had insisted that it was unnecessary, but her parents wanted their daughter to be normal, so she had ended up caving in and accepting. The only problem was that she’d grown accustomed to speaking through Usami-chan and had never really broken the habit, unless people demanded it from her. It was less tiring, and it made her feel more confident.

“Are you counselling her?”

“Why would you play dumb like this?” She was growing annoyed, telling herself that she should have found a way to contact the former headmaster of the academy without going through his best friend first. “I’m obviously talking about Kirigiri Jin.”

“Don’t get so worked up. What business do you have with him that’s so important you had to come see me?”

“Have you heard about the Kamukura project?” He shook his head. She wasn’t sure she could trust him, but she didn’t really have another choice. “Well, I don’t think Kirigiri-san has either. You two are so close that he would have told you, right?”

“He didn’t tell me about Enoshima and her sister being Ultimate Despair,” he pointed out, fiddling with his hat. “What makes you think he tells me everything?”

“I think you’re lying, Kizakura-san.”

“My, my, isn’t our former Ultimate Therapist observant?”

“So?”

Her former teacher didn’t answer right away. Instead, he closed his eyes, seemingly thinking about what to say. She understood that he needed to be careful around her. Officially, she was part of the very few people who were close to Munakata-kun. She also had to be careful around him. Even though Munakata-kun had kept him away from the core of the faculty staff, he could still tell on her and what she was about to say to him in order to be given a higher and better position. They both were in a complicated situation. And yet, if things were to work out the way Miaya hoped they would, they had to be honest with each other.

“Just be honest about one thing,” he suddenly said, blue eyes staring at her as if they were trying to pierce through her soul. “Did Munakata-san send you here?”

“No, I’m… I’m actually working behind his back here. It’s for one of the most important cases I’m handling at the moment. I’m not proud of doing this to a former classmate, but I have no choice.” Her voice had grown less faint as the minutes were ticking by. She felt as though she had regained the self-confidence she usually had when speaking through Usami-chan. “I think it would be better for everyone if the truth finally came out for good. This academy has been corrupt for too long.”

“What do you think you know?” Kizakura-san chuckled. “Secrets like the ones that were exposed by Munakata-san last year are usually very well-kept. So well-kept that Jin-kun and I had no idea what was coming.”

“You really didn’t know about Enoshima?”

“Not a single clue.” He placed his hand to his heart. “I swear.”

Miaya took a deep breath. She had no reason to doubt Kizakura-san anymore, but she still felt as though she needed to be cautious; as though revealing too much of what she had figured out would lead to her failure.

“Well I’d rather not disclose too much of what I know,” she started, swallowing nervously. “But Munakata-kun’s hands aren’t as clean as he claims they are. I want to make Kirigiri-san an offer. I can do what it takes to give him his position as headmaster back, if he does me a favor.”

“What do you mean by do what it takes?”

“I’d expose Munakata-kun’s secret.”

She glanced at the man who was sitting across from her, trying to appear confident. She still wasn’t entirely sure of what had happened to Yukizome-chan, but her situation was suspicious. She and Munakata-kun only met in secret, when their relationship had been public since before they’d even graduated. Besides, she didn’t seem to interact with a lot of the academy’s staff, which made little to no sense. Yukizome-chan had always been a bubbly person who got along with everyone. So, even if she was aware that she needed to investigate some more, Miaya had useful leads. 

“Just how bad are his actions?” Kizakura-san asked.

“That’s something I’ll only share with you if you tell me how to talk to Kirigiri-san. Let’s be honest here, I can’t only work with you. You were a lousy teacher, I can’t imagine how bad you’d be if you were to become the headmaster of the academy.”

He laughed, tipping his hat.

“Well, you’ve certainly managed to grow into an excellent professional and staff member of this academy regardless of my lousy teaching, Gekkogahara-san. Not to mention, you’re a lot more confident than when you were a student. I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I? I’ll tell Jin-kun to contact you. You still prefer e-mails over phone calls, I presume?” She nodded. “That’s a shame, but I accept the privilege of being one of the only people allowed to hear your voice.”

“Thank you, Kizakura-san,” she replied dryly. She couldn’t help being cold with him. She knew that if she got too friendly, he’d cross even more boundaries, and she didn’t want that to happen. “If anyone ends up checking the security footage and asking you why I came to see you, just tell them I was here to discuss Ikusaba-chan.”

“Very well.” Kizakura-san tipped his hat again, and Miaya left his office.

As she closed the door behind her, the Ultimate Therapist felt relieved. Her meeting with her former teacher hadn’t been as bad as she had imagined it would be, but it had been draining nonetheless. Between having to use her own voice to speak and having to deal with his strange personality, she felt like she’d used up all her energy. And yet, there was still a few things she had to do today. She had to ask Munakata-kun about moving her sessions with Kamukura-kun to night-time, which probably wouldn’t be easy. She also needed, if she had enough time for it, to try to have a conversation with Yukizome-chan, if only to get a chance to investigate her situation further.

Her abilities as the Ultimate Therapist didn’t make her a mind-reader, but she knew enough about how people’s psyches worked for her to be able to make accurate inferences about what was going on in their heads. She wasn’t sure how to go about this behind Munakata-kun’s back – if he was hiding his meetings with her, he was probably controlling who was talking to her as well – but she would try. Everything that was going on was way too important to her. She wouldn’t give up on any of it, regardless of how hard it would get.

**XXXXXXX**

Juzo, sat up, confused. He felt robbed, as if something important had been taken away from him. And yet, he’d agreed to everything that had happened to him last night. He’d been willing to do all of this. Until this morning, that is. Until he woke up and Kyosuke-kun was nowhere to be found and not answering his phone, no matter how many times he called. Could he even call him Kyosuke-kun? Shouldn’t he go back to using his family name? Juzo wasn’t sure.

Last night had been strange, and everything he’d dreamed of at the same time. The more he thought about it, the more he got that terrible feeling that he’d been used. Part of him refused to believe it, though. He couldn’t rationalize any of it.

_We had that fight. It was pretty bad. I was just angry because since he’d declined Yukizome-san’s call, I thought it meant that… That he’d told her about us, finally. I don’t need him to tell everyone, at this point, but just her, so I can stop feeling like I’m the other person. But he didn’t tell her, no, he just declined her damn call two days in a row because he ‘doesn’t feel like talking to her.’_

_I wish I had reacted differently. I wish I hadn’t yelled at him. But damn it, it’s been a whole year since I’ve confessed to him. How can he just be okay with keeping Yukizome-san in the dark about what happened? How can he handle not being able to spend time with me outside of his damn office?_

Juzo sighed, burying his face in his hands. _He kissed me and slept with me to calm me down and show me that he meant it – that he did love me – but now I’m the one he doesn’t feel like talking to, aren’t I? He’s probably doing exactly what he did with me last night but with her. This is all a game to him._

The former Ultimate Boxer wasn’t the type to cry, but he felt tears well up at that moment. He chucked, as if he were laughing at himself; at his reaction to this. _No matter how hard I try to hide it, I really am a softie, huh? It’s kinda funny, when I think about it._

He got up and put on his coat, looking at the pictures he’d framed and placed around the room over the years. _Damn you, Kyosuke. I’d be willing to do anything for you and this how you treat me. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you what I knew about Enoshima. At least I wouldn’t be going through this. It’s selfish to think about it this way, considering I’ve most likely saved hundreds to thousands of lives by telling you to the truth. But I’m hurt._

He walked towards the door, placing his hand on the handle. As he stepped outside, different types of thoughts were running through his head. Some of them were screaming at him to get revenge; others were suggesting he leave the academy; and another group, most likely stemming from a more rational part of his brain, was telling him to focus on his duties to the academy. Not for Kyosuke-kun, but for the sake of the students and some of his former classmates, like Gekkogahara-san, who, despite everything going on in the past year, had remained focused on their tasks and were carrying them out for the greater good. In a way, he envied people like them. They never seemed to act upon selfish motives and always put others first. If he’d been more like them, maybe he wouldn’t have fallen for Kyosuke-kun’s lies.

_Ah, speak—well, think of the devil,_ Juzo thought as he saw Miaya come towards him. The former classmates exchanged greetings, and both of them kept going their own separate way. Juzo was glad she had no business with him. If she’d done as little as talking to him for less than five minutes, she’d have been able to figure out that something was bringing him down. He didn’t feel like talking about his feelings. However, being terrible at lying, he would have ended up doing so.

Despite his current train of thought, Juzo turned around as though he wasn’t in control of his movements anymore.

“Gekkogahara-san,” he called. “Have you seen Munakata-kun?”

“I just got out of a meeting with him, actually.” Usami’s voice stopped, apparently waiting for him to answer. When he didn’t, Gekkogahara-san started typing again. “Is it possible that you were the one calling him when I was in his office?”

“I… Uh, yeah… I guess.”

“Is something the matter?” Usami tilted her head, blinking rhythmically.

_Fuck, now I’m gonna have to tell her._ Juzo scratch the back of his neck, trying to come up with a lie. His mind went blank. It would be impossible to get rid of Gekkogahara-san, now.

“You know, it can always help to talk a little. I know you enjoy using your fists a lot more than words, but you should try it. Besides, we don’t have to do this here, in the middle of a corridor where someone will end up walking in on us. We can go to my office.”

“I don’t need therapy.”

“Therapy is a big word, we can just talk as friends!” Usami enthusiastically replied.

“Yeah, right. Is he sending you to see me just to make sure he didn’t completely hurt me? Does he wanna make sure I’ll still be on his side even if he’s been playing me this entire time? Is he sleeping with you too?”

When he finished speaking, Juzo realized he’d been screaming at his former classmate. He couldn’t believe these words had gone past his lips. He couldn’t even believe he had been suspicious of Gekkogahara-san. He knew she worked for Munakata-kun, but it was clear that she would always put the need of her patients and friends above his orders.

“I’m sorry, Gekkogahara-san, I didn’t mean to—”

“No more discussing it.” Usami’s cheeks were puffed, and she was glaring at him. “You’re following me to my office to talk. You need it.”

And that was how Juzo talked about his feelings for Kyosuke to a friend for the first time. That was also how the young man ended up understanding what the man he loved was actually up to, behind almost everyone’s backs. That was how he decided he would talk to Yukizome-san, after avoiding her for a year. Most importantly, that was how he realized that, very much like Gekkogahara-san, he could also act for selfless matters. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Juzo's switches in how he refers to Kyosuke is supposed to be a metaphor for how his feelings keep fluctuating now that he knows he's been betrayed. I don't know if that was a good choice, but I tried.   
> I hope this chapter wasn't as bad as I think it is. Thank you for keeping up with this fic, I hope y'all know it means a lot to me!


	10. Discovering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's much a few hours earlier than it usually is when I update. Not sure this chapter counts as fluff, but I assume you guys will like it. There is a bit of a lack of focus on these two characters in this fic, anyway.

“Do you want to play with me, Kamukura-kun?”

Gekkogahara had left them alone around ten minutes ago, and they’d spent that time in silence, sitting next to each other. Izuru knew it didn’t count as an awkward silence. Nanami was absorbed in her game, and he was just looking at her, still attempting to figure out just what it was about her that made him feel so normal. He had expected her to be the one to break the silence. Even though he couldn’t fully understand nor predict her reactions, he still a had an idea of what she was experiencing and doing. She, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on in his head. It was natural for her to seek such information through conversations.

“I told you last time, I don’t think video games are entertaining. Besides, I already know I’ll win.”

“You haven’t tried every genre of video games!” Nanami pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. With her cheeks puffed like this, Izuru realized that he thought she was cute.

_Reason number one: I am drawn to Nanami because she is cute._

“I don’t think there’s much use trying another genre. It’s really not your fault that things are boring because I know wh—”

“Let’s try a co-op game, then. Sure, it’s obvious we’ll clear the level easily with the combination of our abilities, but that means we both know how the game will end. I know for a fact we’ll have fun nonetheless!” She explained excitedly.

Izuru didn’t understand why she was so fixated on making sure he’d have fun playing a game with her, but there was something in her voice and determination that let him know that there was no point arguing. She wanted him to try, and she wouldn’t stop suggesting other options until he finally caved in. Besides, her face just lit up when she was telling him about how fun it would be to play, and that reminded him of the sun – a bright sun that would shine its light upon his world, as if to take him away from the shadows he’d always known.

_Reason number two: I am drawn to Nanami because she is metaphorically brighter than the sun._

He watched her as she reached for her backpack, successively pulling out two Nintendo 3DS consoles, and two copies of _The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes._ She handed him one of each, smiling him at him. He could tell she’d brought a spare of everything just to make sure he would be able to play with her, but he was still surprised by the thoughtfulness, somehow.

_Reason number three: I am drawn to Nanami because she is genuinely thoughtful, and cares in a way that no one else can copy._

“I thought I’d bring two because I didn’t know if you already had them,” Nanami said softly, confirming his prediction. “I heard from Gekkogahara-san that Munakata-san gives you everything you need to test your talents, but I had no way to know if that was part of it,” she chuckled, giving him yet another warm smile. For some reason, these smiles made Izuru’s heartbeat a little faster. If he didn’t have any of his analytical abilities, he probably wouldn’t be able to tell. Still, the increase in rhythm was still there, Izuru couldn’t deny it.

“Thank you, Nanami.”

He took the console and inserted the cartridge before turning it on. He moved the stylus across the screen while Nanami’s sweet voice was telling him what he was supposed to do. He already knew, but he didn’t mind following her instructions. There was something about her voice that reminded him of the symphonies Munakata-sensei had him practice on various instruments about six months ago – except her voice sounded even better than any of these.

_Reason number four: I am drawn to Nanami because her voice is like music to my ears._

“I think you should pick red Link. Your eyes are the same color.”

Even though Izuru didn’t care about such a trivial thing as the color of the hair and outfit of the character he would be playing as, he did as told. Nanami picked green Link – it was the original color for the hero’s tunic, and she liked it because green was one of the colors associated with hope – and the two of them started playing. Traveling through the Drablands didn’t take them much time, and Izuru thought that playing video games with Nanami definitely was a lot easier than when he played _against_ her. A few hours later, they’d lifted the curse on Princess Styla of Hytopia, and all the characters they’d encountered in their short adventure were celebrating with the heroes.

Nanami, whom Izuru knew had enjoyed their gaming session thoroughly – she had been constantly praising him and getting more and more excited as they went through each level –, turned to him.

“So, did you have fun, Kamukura-kun?”

“I told you I can’t have fun,” he bluntly replied. “Even though your gaming talent is impressive, I knew exactly what was going to happen with every move we made. I could predict what the next level would be like, and I knew for a fact we’d clear everything without having any problem whatsoever.”

He knew Nanami would look, and be, disappointed with his response, but he couldn’t lie to her. He couldn’t make her believe that video games would ever be fun to him. He was enjoying spending time with her, but it had nothing to do with what they were doing. Her presence, regardless of how intrigued it made him, brought him some sort of peace of mind. He couldn’t tell her that though, at least not yet. He had an idea of what the sensations her company were arousing within him implied, and it was nothing people were supposed to say aloud during their second meeting. She would have to deal with the disappointment. Well, Izuru knew she would.

“Yeah, that’s okay, I think. We can always try something else tomorrow.”

“I don’t think I’ll enjoy whatever you have in mind for tomorrow either.”

“Then I’ll let you pick. There has to be something you enjoy. I would like it if you shared that with me. Who knows, maybe I’ll have fun doing whatever that is, too.”

He studied her face for a moment, thinking of what to say. There was no doubt that she just wanted him to stop being bored and have fun and was willing to do whatever it took for that to happen. On the other hand, there was no activity in the whole world that could not turn out to be boring for him. He had already explained that to Nanami when had first seen her, but she didn’t seem to believe him. He wasn’t annoyed nor frustrated with her determination, though. He merely disliked the prospect of not being able to give her what she wanted. He didn’t want to hurt her or to make her give up on him. Part of him knew she was faithful enough not to leave him alone simply because nothing they did was fun to him, but he didn’t want the shine in her eyes to fade away with time.

“I don’t want you to waste your energy, Nanami. I know it’s difficult to grasp for you, even more so since you knew Hinata, but there isn’t anything that I will have fun doing. It’s good enough that you want to spend time with me.”

“I-it’s not a waste!” she protested, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. She looked up at him, wide, bright pink eyes intently staring at him – he liked it. “You’re my friend, Kamukura-kun. No matter what you say, I’m sure there’s something out there that can stop you from being so bored all the time.”

She paused for a moment, placing her hand on his shoulder. Izuru usually disliked being touched, even for medical check-ups, but somehow, this didn’t make him uncomfortable. Instead, he felt his body grow slightly warmer at her touch. This was nice – predictable, but nice.

“I’m sure that if we keep trying out new things, we’ll find something you like,” she continued, her lips turning into a smile.

“I suppose that’s fine.”

Her smile grew bigger – so big that her face almost looked too small for it. _Yes,_ Izuru thought, _this is okay. I can get used to this. She isn’t trying to change who and what I am in order to bring back Hinata. I can definitely deal with that. Well, I can technically deal with anything, but being with her would be tough if she didn’t accept me._

“It’s two in the morning, Nanami,” Izuru said, breaking the comfortable silence between them. “Shouldn’t you be going to sleep so you can go to class tomorrow?”

“Ah, yes, you’re right,” she chuckled, scratching the back of her neck. “I didn’t realize it was already this late. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“It’s not safe enough for you to get back to your dorm alone, especially with all the security in this building. I’ll walk you back.”

Nanami nodded, and the two of them stood up.

**XXXXXXX**

Once they were outside of his room, Izuru held his hand out. Chiaki spent a few seconds staring at it, confused. Was she supposed to take it?

“Nanami,” he called in a soft yet firm whisper.

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry if this is uncomfortable, but it’ll be easier for me to guide you through the hallways without security spotting us if we hold hands.”

She gave him a quick nod, extending her own hand and wrapping her fingers around his. She felt her cheeks grow warmer as she did so, which made her embarrassed. It wasn’t time for her to lose her composure. Kamukura-kun was taking risks for her to get back to her room safe. If she didn’t ignore how it felt to hold his hand, she would probably set him up for failure.

Kamukura-kun started walking, taking one silent and gracious step after another. She followed, wondering how someone with such long and massive hair could move in such a swift and easy manner. She knew the answer lay in how talented they’d made him, but she didn’t care. Kamukura-kun was amazing, regardless of the abilities he had.

Chiaki refocused on her steps, treating their sneaking around the staff’s building as a video game stealth section. She’d cleared many of these in the past. Doing it in the real world couldn’t be that complicated, could it?

And it hadn’t been complicated at all. Before she even knew it, they’d reached the hallway leading to her dorm room without anyone even noticing them. They hadn’t had to run nor hide from anyone. Kamukura-kun had, she had to admit it, flawlessly led her to back to safety. They stopped in front of her door, and he let go for hand. Chiaki couldn’t help but frown a little as her hand fell at her side.

“See you tomorrow, Nanami,” Kamukura-kun said briefly, turning and walking away from her.

“Wait, Kamukura-kun!” He turned back, facing her again. “Why are you doing all these things just to spend a few hours a day with me?” The question had been on her mind for most of the night, and it would have been too hard to fall asleep without an answer.

Despite how dark the corridor was, Chiaki could tell Kamukura-kun was staring at her, red eyes studying her every move, including moves that other people would have been never able to notice. He was silent, as though he were trying to _find_ the answer to her question. She felt slightly proud of herself – she had brought up something he didn’t know. This meant that he couldn’t be entirely bored around her. She smiled, mostly to herself, even though she knew he would notice it.

“I suppose being around you is quite enjoyable, Nanami. But I could ask you the same question, you know? It is most illogical to attempt to find an activity that won’t feel meaningless to me because I know what the outcome will be, after all.”

“I suppose I like a challenge,” she replied, shrugging.

“Most illogical indeed. Well, regardless. It’s still late, and you need to sleep.”

“Yeah, goodnight Kamukura-kun,” she whispered, inserting her key in the lock. “See you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Nanami.”

Once she couldn’t see him anymore, Chiaki walked into her room and crashed onto her bed as her brain kept replaying Kamukura-kun’s words over and over again. _I suppose being around me is quite enjoyable, after all,_ she thought as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there is no two-player mode in Triforce Heroes (it's either single player or three-players, which is stupid - but thank God my mom gave me two siblings so I could still enjoy the multiplayer mode when I god that game hehe) but for the sake of this fic and my undying love for The Legend of Zelda series, let's ignore it, thank you!  
> I also know this chapter was shorter (by a few hundreds of words) than most of the previous ones, and hopefully that wasn't too disappointing.   
> If I don't manage to write, edit, and upload chapter 11 tomorrow, it'll be up on Monday. Thank you for all your support and for always being so patient with me.


	11. Clearing up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the longest chapter I've posted so far, and even written in my entire life. Oh well, hopefully it's interesting!  
> Also I've officially reached 1000 hits, thank you guys for keeping up with this fic!

A week went by and nothing changed. As Nanami was involved, Izuru felt he needed to be patient and careful. Still, he was growing restless as the days went by. Every evening spent with her was bringing him peace, but it wasn’t enough. Whenever he woke up from the few hours of rest he got at night and started checking on everything through the security cameras, he got annoyed.

Gekkogahara met with Hope’s Peak’s former headmaster, Kirigiri Jin, three times in the past week. He understood that she was trying to turn on Munakata-sensei and help the other man become headmaster again, but she had hit a wall. Her suspicions were not wrong, though. Munakata-sensei was hiding the fact that his girlfriend had been brainwashed by Enoshima before her activities as Ultimate Despair were stopped. There were two problems with that: Gekkogahara didn’t know this was what was really going on, and even if Izuru told her, she would have no way to prove it. Yukizome would be able to put on a good enough act to clear herself from all suspicions.

Sakakura, once he’d finally realized that Munakata-sensei was using him, had been investigating the situation as well. He’d managed to meet with Yukizome once. During their encounter, he’d told her about what had been going on between he and Munakata-sensei, hoping this would be enough for her to betray her boyfriend. But the redhead did no such thing. Instead, she cried to Sakakura about how hurt she was and how she’d be there for him if he needed her, since they were going through the same thing. Sakakura believed her. He was _that_ gullible.

 _How boring,_ Izuru thought, almost angrily shutting his laptop. _This is what I get for trusting them with this, isn’t it? This is just like with Enoshima. They promised me things that will never end up happening._ He sighed, lying down and closing his eyes. _Well, at least Gekkogahara escorts Nanami here every night. That makes seeing her a little simpler._

He put his hand in his pocket, his fingers brushing against cold photographic paper. He gently got the photograph out of his pocket, looking at it. Two nights ago, Nanami had insisted they tried photography. Out of all the things they’d try to do together thus far, taking pictures had been Izuru’s favorite. In spite of his ultimate memory, there was something comforting about being able to look at physical memories of a past moment.

Izuru closed his eyes again, reminiscing about the night he’d taken that picture.

-

_‘I asked Koizumi-san advice about this, and she said Polaroids are the most fun,’ Nanami said, beaming like she always did when she was talking about whatever activity they would partake in for the night. ‘Oh wait, you don’t know who Koizumi-san is, do you?’_

_He shook his head. He assumed she was the Ultimate Photographer – there was no other reason why Nanami would have asked her specifically about cameras – and that was all he really needed to know about her, but he liked listening to Nanami talk about her classmates and other things that were going on in her life when she wasn’t with him_.

_‘She’s the Ultimate Photographer, one of my classmates. She’s such a good friend that she’s the only one who can really get along with Saionji-san.’ Izuru remembered Nanami complaining about Saionji’s constant bullying of others, which had hurt several people on different occasions. ‘I wish I were as good as she is at handling her, sometimes. It’s okay if I’m not, though. Even if I’m class rep, it’s nice to let everyone do whatever they’re good at.’_

_Nanami paused for a bit, apologizing for boring him with her stories. He reassured her that she wasn’t – that even though he could predict most of what was happening to her and her classmates, he enjoyed hearing about it. She thanked him and carried on:_

_‘Well anyway, Koizumi-san always takes pictures so we can have nice memories of the moments we spend together as a class, and I always thought that was cool. The only problem is that the only good pictures I’ve ever taken in my life were on Pokémon Snap, so I asked her about what she’d recommend for beginners, and she said these cameras are nice because they print the pictures out instantly. It’s more fun than having to keep them stored on our phones or on a digital camera, I think.’_

_There was another pause in her speech as she handed him the camera she’d brought for him. Their fingers accidentally touched – this had become such an usual occurrence after the first time they’d held hands to get her back to her dorm that Izuru wasn’t sure it was entirely accidental, but he didn’t mind. Nanami’s face still turned a pastel shade of red every time it happened._

_‘Ah, sorry,’ she mumbled, looking down at the floor. ‘I said the cameras are good for beginners but I didn’t mean you. I know you’re probably a lot better than Koizumi-san at taking pictures. I just wanted something easy for myself.’_

_‘I know, that’s fine.’ He still wasn’t too keen on physical contact, but he placed his hand on her shoulder anyway. ‘I understand.’_

_She smiled at him, and they started taking pictures of random objects in the room. There weren’t that many things to take pictures of, though. Nanami quickly ran out of ideas, but Izuru had something in mind._

_‘Nanami, can I take a picture of you?’_

_‘Yes, but only if I can take a picture of you too,’ she replied before striking a pose for him._

_He managed to take what he considered the perfect picture of Nanami on the first try. He knew for a fact he wouldn’t be getting rid of it any time soon. Nanami, on the other hand, needed three different attempts to fit his hair in the frame. She didn’t seem like she’d be discarding the final picture either._

-

He was glad the idea of taking a picture of Nanami had come to his mind. It was a nice reminder of the peace and comfort Nanami was bringing him. He was trying to use it as a reminder that he should not try to do anything nor interfere with what Sakakura and Gekkogahara were working on. Yet, when he was getting as bored as he had been yesterday, he wasn’t sure he would be able to stop himself from acting on his own.

**XXXXXXX**

When Gekkogahara-san was busy carrying out her daily check-up on Kamukura-kun, Chiaki usually just sat in a corner of the room, playing a video game. She did care about what was going on around her, but being present felt like she was stealing part of Kamukura-kun’s privacy. That was why she generally tuned their conversation out until Gekkogahara-san left the room. Tonight was different, though. Her friend was being strangely silent and responded to the former Ultimate Therapist’s questions in a much drier manner than he had ever since she started witnessing their daily sessions. His answers were short, sometimes a little cut-throat, and the tone he was using was nothing like his usual nonchalance. Instead, he sounded like he was angry. Chiaki made a mental note to ask him about it later. She was no therapist, but she was his friend. They could talk to each other if they needed to.

She refocused on her game, ignoring Usami-chan’s questions. They weren’t meant for her, so she didn’t have to listen to them. She wanted Gekkogahara-san to be done as soon as possible. She didn’t like the way Kamukura-kun was reacting, and it was hard for her to ignore it. She wasn’t scared per say, but she had a feeling that his change in attitude meant that he could very well do something he wasn’t supposed to. She wasn’t entirely sure, though. There was just something in his he voice that reminded her of the last time she’d seen Hinata-kun. Knowing what he’d done after that, she wasn’t exactly at ease with what was happening right next to her.

A good twenty minutes later, during which Chiaki had turned up to volume of her game as if to drown out the sound of their conversation, Gekkogahara-san finally left them alone. The Ultimate Gamer stood up, took a few steps towards Kamukura-kun and faced him.

“What was that about, Kamukura-kun?” she asked, her voice making her sound a lot more worried than she’d intended to show.

He looked back at her, blinking. She still hadn’t fully gotten used to how intimidating he looked, especially when his bright, crimson eyes were staring into hers. It always sent shivers down her spine, and warmth throughout her cheeks. She had felt something similar when talking to Hinata-kun, but this somehow was more intense. This was probably due to Kamukura-kun’s higher level of charisma. Waiting for him to answer, she took a few deep breaths in an attempt to regain, and hopefully keep, her composure. With how long he was taking to speak, she knew she had to brace herself for a difficult, and probably uncomfortable, conversation.

“Aren’t you tired of this, Nanami?”

“No, I enjoy spending time with you.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” He was firm, confirming her intuition that something was up. “Don’t you wish you could tell people about me? Spend time with me outside of this room?”

“I do, but…” She frowned, unsure what to say because she didn’t want to mess up the way she had unknowingly messed up with Hinata-kun. “It’s fine like this, too. I promise.”

“What if there was a way for me to change things?”

“I don’t understand. I thought Gekkogahara-san and Sakakura-san were going to expose Munakata-san’s secrets and that it would enable you to be a normal student at the academy. That’s what you told me, right? I didn’t imagine that.”

“You didn’t. I just know it’s not going to work out. Deep down, I always knew. I only chose to believe in it because if it worked, this would be the only way to get things to change without possibly hurting you, since I wouldn’t actually be getting involved.”

There was a long pause – or at least, it felt like an eternity until Kamukura-kun spoke again. She wasn’t sure what to say to him. In a way, she felt like she was letting him down again; like no matter what she did, or how close they got, she’d always be unable to help him.

“Nanami,” he called. “You should sit down.” He patted a spot on the bed next to him. She did as told, noticing her legs were feeling too weak for her to keep standing much longer. There was another pause. She didn’t have the strength to look at him.

“I know you’re smart enough to understand that I’m going to do something and that you can’t convince me otherwise. I know that once you’ve processed everything I’m about to say, you’ll think I’m selfish. You’ll be angry at me. I accept it. I know you’ll have it in your heart to forgive me. If not now, at least once everything goes back to normal.”

“What are you even thinking of doing?”

“Do you remember how Enoshima brainwashed Tsumiki?” She nodded, and he took her hand. She wasn’t sure why he would do that – he wasn’t the type to initiate physical contact unless it was absolutely necessary – but it made her feel a little stronger. She squeezed his hand. “This is going to be hard for you to hear because you care about that person, but Tsumiki isn’t the only one who was brainwashed.”

“Is it Komaeda-kun? He’s the only one in my class who had seen her during that period of time when the brainwashing took place, I think.”

Izuru winced, confusing her. She’d never seen him have an emotion show this clearly on his face. 

“It’s not Komaeda, no. His luck protected him.” He paused again. She wished he would just tell her who he was talking about. This was painfully slow. “It’s Yukizome, your teacher.”

“No… That’s not… She’s the one who rescued Komaeda-kun and Tsumiki-san! If she had been brainwashed she wouldn’t—”

“Nanami.” She felt him squeeze her hand. “I know because I was there. I can tell you what happened, if you want, but I believe this is hard enough to process as it is. When Sakakura told Munkata-sensei what he’d found out about Enoshima, they rushed to where she was hiding. And they found me, Ikusaba, Komaeda, Tsumiki, Enoshima and Yukizome.”

The more he spoke, the more light-headed she felt. He had no reason to lie to her, she knew it. Despite that, everything he was saying was hard to accept. It felt like he was crushing her heart with his own hands. Ever since she had found out about what the academy staff had done to Hinata-kun, she had stopped admiring the institution – this still seemed way worse than anything she’d imagined.

“Nanami, stay with me,” he instructed, laying her head on his lap and stroking her hair. His hands felt warm and soothing, contrasting with the words that had been coming out of his mouth since she’d decided to confront him. She couldn’t grasp how someone could make her feel two completely opposite things at the same time.

“Enoshima went on a long rant about how they’d both feel despair, regardless of what they would do. They proved her wrong. They captured the 3 of us – Enoshima, Ikusaba and me. Enoshima was sentenced to death. This is what they mean when they say they terminated her. Ikusaba was put in Gekkogahara’s care to be rehabilitated. From what I know, she started going back to class two weeks ago. I was also put in Gekkogahara’s care, but hidden from public records. You already know all these things, don’t you?”

She nodded again, too weak to speak. She actually didn’t know what exactly had happened to Enoshima, but she didn’t care. She had never met her, and given what she had done to Tsumiki-san and Yukizome-sensei, she couldn’t care less.

“As for Yukizome, Komaeda and Tsumiki,” Kamukura-kun continued, “Munakata-sensei let them go, telling Yukizome to make sure her students get the care they needed. He even praised her for putting herself in danger for them. However, he only understood that his girlfriend was brainwashed after Enoshima’s execution. He caught her crying when she gave her last breath. He decided to hide it, though. He couldn’t have anyone know that he would fail to notice such a thing from the get-go. He would have lost some of his legitimacy as headmaster.”

Chiaki closed her eyes for a few seconds, fixating her attention on Kamukura-kun’s fingers running through her hair. This hadn’t been easy to hear, but he was done. He’d told her what he knew. This was another blow to her, but somehow, it didn’t seem as difficult to process as the story of how he came to be who he was. She could do this. It would be okay. Or so she thought. It didn’t take very long for her to realize she didn’t know why Kamukura-kun had been there when Enoshima was stopped.

“Why were you with her?” She asked, but her voice was so weak and faint that she wasn’t sure she’d actually spoken.

“I was on her side. She promised me despair was something I wouldn’t be able to predict. I know this is no excuse, but as bored as I was, I decided to give it a try. She didn’t brainwash nor threaten me.”

Kamukura-kun punching her in the face would have probably been less painful than hearing this. Yet, Chiaki didn’t move. Instead, she looked up at him and for the first time since she’d seen him, she saw his lips turned into a frown. 

“I was able to predict despair and its effects. I was able to predict her impending failure. I admit I tried to help her, if only to turn the odds in her favor. I didn’t want to tell you about any of this, but I think it’s better if I come clean.”

There was another blank. She didn’t want him to keep talking about this. At the same time, she felt as if she absolutely needed to know everything about this. So she remained silent. She didn’t have any thing to say about what he had explained to her that he wouldn’t have been able to guess. It was pointless to speak.

“There’s only thing I haven’t been able to fully analyze and accurately predict,” he suddenly spoke again, and she turned her attention to him, bracing herself for more pain. “It’s not despair. It’s not Enoshima. It’s not anything about this academy. It’s you, your reactions, my reactions to your presence and actions. I have a slight hunch about what this all means, but I know it’s too early for that. And the situation we’re in isn’t right for this, anyway. But Nanami, you changed things in my life. I’m grateful you decided to stick around, even if it hasn’t been that long. So please believe me when I—”

“I do, Izuru. I believe you. I’m not sure why, but I can’t think of a single reason why you would try to lie to me, or even hurt me. So I trust you.”

The expression on his face changed – Chiaki swore she’d seen a smile creep up on his lips and one of his eyes turn green, if only for a second. But she was tired, so she wasn’t entirely sure she could trust her perception of things. She yawned, and Izuru moved her to his bed.

“You’re too tired to go back to your room, or to even keep talking, so I’ll let you sleep here. It’s been hard enough on you for now. I’ll watch over you.”

“Okay, just don’t try anything weird on me while I’m asleep,” she chuckled.

“I won’t, you’re safe here.”

“I know. Goodnight, Izuru.”

“Goodnight, Chiaki.”

It was with a smile on her face that Chiaki drifted off to sleep in a bed that wasn’t hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think ending the chapter here counts as a cliffhanger. To be completely honest, I wanted to write a little more, but it would have been too long. It either make the story progress a little more, or sacrifice the photography scene. That short flashback was too cute for me to want to delete, so I kept it.  
> Ah, what do you guys think will happen next?


	12. Assessing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a breather/shorter chapter than usual!

A notification. They glance at whoever is in the same room as them at the moment, confused as to why everyone’s phones went off at the same time. It has to be something important. Maybe a message from the government, or from headmaster Munakata. They silently check their phones and open what they’ve just received. A file is attached to it – a video. Should they play it? Well, since everyone received around them received the same thing, it has to be of importance. So, they download it and start playing it.

The screen goes dark. Silence. Dim lights eventually enable them to make out what’s in the room where the video was recorded. It doesn’t look like headmaster Munakata’s office, or the Prime Minister’s office. Confusion. A man appears on screen. He’s holding what looks like a teddy bear, half-white, half-black. The white half looks like your ordinary stuffed toy. The black half, on the other hand, looks like something straight out of a child’s nightmare with its shiny red eye and huge teeth. The man is soon followed by a woman. She looks older than him, but only by a few years. He speaks, red eyes glaring at them through their screens.

“I am Kamukura Izuru, Enoshima Junko’s successor. You may have heard my name before – I was named after the founder of Hope’s Peak academy by its former headmaster Tengan Kazuo. Before I was given this identity, I was just like you. Well, like some of you, in fact. A mere Reserve Course student, whose parents spent most of their savings on tuition fees. That money eventually ran out and I was approached by Tengan. He offered me the opportunity to stay here for free. I was to undergo human experimentation in order to be given every single talent known to mankind and become the Ultimate Hope. I accepted.”

Conflicted feelings. Some people get angry. Others feel sympathy for the man on screen. Another group is dreading what comes next. This is too similar to the speech she’s delivered before her execution. He did say he was her successor, didn’t he? What does that mean? And that woman, doesn’t she look like headmaster Munakata’s girlfriend? Why is she with him? Could it be that he’s already brainwashed some of us? Suspicions. Is the person next to them an ally, or an enemy? Should they run? Should they hide? They don’t move. The red eyes and ominous voice are impossible to resist. They need to watch. They need to listen.

“Parents of students in the Reserve Course, this is what your money was used for. Your child had no chance of joining the Main Course – I remember Enoshima telling you this when she started exposing this rotten academy’s secrets. However, she didn’t tell you about me. In this sense, I’m better than her. I will not keep any secrets from any of you.”

Secrets? What is he talking about?

“Munakata Kyosuke, the current headmaster you adore so much, is a master at keeping secrets. He knows about me. He’s kept me hidden within the walls of this school for over a year. Only a small amount of individuals he trusts were told and asked to keep me in check. But that’s not the only thing you don’t know about him. Isn’t that right, Yukizome?”

She is indeed headmaster Munakata’s girlfriend. Things could be bad. She starts to speak. She lacks the charisma and presence the man has, but they still feel drawn to their screens even though they know they want to get away. They no longer want to listen, but they have no choice.

“Munakata is having an affair with a man you all know and trust – his right-hand man and my former classmate, Sakakura Juzo. But this isn’t as bad as hiding Kamukura-sama’s existence from you, or forgetting to tell people that I am one of the last remaining followers of Enoshima-sama, is it?”

Enoshima- _sama_? What does she mean? Why would she speak of her in such high regards? The man starts speaking again.

“We will finish what Enoshima started. Hope’s Peak academy must be destroyed. Anyone who wishes to join forces with us is welcome. We will call ourselves the Ultimate Despairs. I will bring to you any evidence necessary to convince others that our side is right.”

The light fades. The screen goes dark again. Then there is one single sound, and the image of the bear the man was clutching appears.

“Upupupupupu.”

They have no idea what they’re supposed to do or think. This is too much. Ultimate Despair? Weren’t all the people under Enoshima’s orders taken care of after her execution? How could this be happening? Was headmaster Munakata really lying to them?

“Upupupupupu.”

Ultimate Hope… Ultimate Despair…

Hope… Despair…

“Upupupupupu.”

They don’t want to hear this sound anymore.

**XXXXXXX**

Juzo stared out the window, a feeling of uncertainty growing in his chest. He’d been with Munakata-kun when the video was sent to both of their phones. Now, a new Parade was getting bigger and bigger with every passing minute. He wasn’t sure whose side he was supposed to be on. On the one hand, Munataka-kun had betrayed him, and he no longer trusted him. He’d remained his right-hand man nonetheless – he didn’t want to ruin the opportunity to bring intel to Gekkogahara-san, who had been the only person to genuinely listen to and care for him through everything that had been going on in the past few weeks. On the other hand, he had no idea what Kamukura’s video meant. Was he really Ultimate Despair? Had he been using Gekkogahara-san and Nanami-san all along? It was hard to believe, but given everything Kamukura could do, he had no idea what to think.

Besides, the last spoken sentence in the video sounded off to him: _‘I will bring to you any evidence necessary to convince others that our side is right.’_ It seemed out of place, as if intended for a few specific people. Juzo sighed. He knew Munakata-kun had asked him to do whatever it took to stop the Parade as soon as he could think of a plan, but he didn’t feel like acting yet. Not without reaching Gekkogahara-san first. She was probably the only person in the entire academy who knew what any of it meant and what they were supposed to do.

He texted her, anxiously waiting for a response. They needed to communicate quickly, if he were to keep pretending to follow Munakata-kun’s orders. He sat down and tried to think about what to do, but the only thing that was coming to mind was Yukizome-kun’s betrayal. He was not hurt per say, but it was hard to believe that she had been so good at pretending to be upset by Munakata-kun’s infidelity that he’d believed her. He’d almost left Gekkogahara-san’s side after he’d met with his former classmate and close friend. He’d wanted to tell her just how wrong she was; that Yukizome-kun was just another victim of Munakata-kun’s influence, just like he was. For once, keeping his mouth shut had been the right thing to do. Despite all of this, beating himself up over what he had and hadn’t done over the past few days was pointless. He needed to come up with a plan – a plan that would enable him to redeem himself and finally make things right in the academy.

Someone knocked on the door. He nervously got up and walked towards it. If it was Munakata-kun, he’d be forced to act. Thankfully, a head of blue hair and a red scarf were the first things he saw when he opened the door. _Thank God,_ he thought, _if I were a high school student today, they might just pick me as Ultimate Lucky student instead of Ultimate Boxer._

As he closed the door behind the two of them, Usami’s voice filled the room:

“I managed to convince Munakata-kun to let Kizakura-san take care of class 77, just to be sure Nanami-chan will be safe. I don’t know what that message meant, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Do you suspect Kamukura really turned to Ultimate Despair again?”

“I’m not sure.” Usami looked down, as if she were full of regrets. “He had been acting different with me for a few days, and I just… I pinned it on boredom. He seemed happy enough around Nanami-chan so I thought he just had enough of our therapy sessions and just wanted more time with her. It’s possible that I was wrong. Kamukura-kun is a complicated individual, especially when you consider all the things he can do.”

“I understand that but,” Juzo paused, thinking about Nanami-san and her relationship with Kamukura. “Something about this video doesn’t seem right. If he really wanted to destroy the academy, he would have started with attacking Munakata-kun. He didn’t do any of this. Instead, he just messed with the security system again and hid himself with Yukizome-kun. I think the answer about what happened to Kamukura lies in Nanami’s reaction to it,” he said. He couldn’t believe he’d worked up the confidence to share his theory with Gekkogahara-san. After all the times he’d been wrong about others, it had become hard for him to be so assertive.

“I guess I’ll get Nanami-chan then. We need to act fa—”

“No,” he said firmly, looking at his former classmate. “I’ll interrogate her. There’s always a chance that Kamukura may have turned her into Ultimate Despair as well. I knew how to deal with Enoshima back then. This should be a piece of cake for me.”

Usami looked lost in thought for a moment. Juzo knew how caring Gekkogahara-san was. He knew she would hesitate to send him there, but he wouldn’t let her have her way. He felt too guilty about all the times he’d gone behind her back for Munakata-kun. This was his chance to fix things. He wouldn’t let it pass.

“Very well,” Usami eventually responded. “I entrust Nanami-chan to you, Sakakura-kun. Please contact me as soon as you find out more.”

“What about you?” He asked, suddenly feeling the urge to make sure she wouldn’t do anything reckless. She was the one who held most of the information Munakata-kun had kept hidden. She was at the root of everything. She was simply too important for him to let her to do anything that would put her in danger.

“I imagine I can act as some sort of leader for our little group!” Usami’s voice was enthusiastic, and Juzo felt relieved. “Once we know what Nanami-chan knows, we’ll need to come up with a plan as fast as possible. I’ll stay in my office and try to think of all the possibilities we have. I’m not as good at fighting as everyone else is but I have faith in all of you. We’re all soulmates now!”

The white rabbit winked at him, making him feel more confident than he’d been ever since he’d watched that video. It didn’t matter how strong the Ultimate Despair were, or how much power Munakata-kun had. They had something that none of them had: friends, and a desire to act in everyone’s best interest. They could do this, no matter what the truth behind Kamukura’s video was.

“I’ll be in touch soon, Gekkogahara-san.”

Once he’d said these words, Juzo rushed out of the room where he’d been hiding from Munakata-kun. He only had one thing in mind: find Nanami-san and get her to tell him everything she knew about Kamukura. He knew that if she liked him, it would be hard to make her speak, but he believed in his ability to do it regardless. After all, if Kamukura really was Ultimate Despair, it meant that he had betrayed her just like Munakata-kun had betrayed him. They would have something in common. He didn’t enjoy using other people’s feelings, but it seemed like it was a necessity right now.

Having figured out the course of action he would follow, the former Ultimate Boxer sprinted towards the Main Course’s building. Rushing through the maze-like hallways, he did his best to reach the room where Kizakura-san would be with Nanami-san and the rest of her class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said this would end at chapter 12? Yeah, me neither lol.


	13. Investigating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is a bit jumbled, I probably did a sloppy job of editing this.

A thin silhouette partly covered by long, light lavender hair was guiding him through the maze that was Hope’s Peak Academy. If, a month ago, someone had told him that everything would have come to this, Juzo would not have believed them. And yet, here he was, investigating someone he used to consider one of his best friends with the former headmaster’s daughter. Kyoko-san – he did not want to call her Kirigiri-san; that was her father – scribbled on a small notebook, completely silent. He didn’t understand why Gekkogahara-san had asked him to come with her. She wasn’t even talking to him or telling him what they were supposed to look for. Was this some form of punishment for not being able to get any information from Nanami-san when he’d interrogated her?

He sighed, remembering what had happened earlier that day

-

_Nanami-san was extremely calm for someone whose love interest was claiming to be plotting against the academy. When he had come to get her out of her class, she didn’t seem surprised nor scared of him. It probably meant that she was part of the Ultimate Despair now. Kamukura probably had no difficulty getting her to join his cause, what with his own talents and her feelings towards him. Juzo knew he needed to get to the bottom of this._

_He had her sit down in an empty classroom, standing across from her. She seemed strangely docile, and a lot more confident than she had been during their first encounter. This only made his suspicions grow bigger. Despite that, he still hoped that his intuition would be wrong. In a way, it was Munakata-kun’s fault that these things were happening. And because of that, Juzo knew he’d enabled some of them by not going against him until recently. Part of him felt guilty about all of this._

_“What do you know about Kamukura?” He asked, attempting to make eye contact with the young girl._

_“I don’t know anything.” She paused, avoiding his gaze. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you… I think.”_

_He chuckled. She definitely had gained in confidence since she’d started seeing Kamukura. This felt bittersweet to him, as he’d also started to feel more self-assured after confessing to Munakata-kun. None of this had turned out right for him, had it? He didn’t want Nanami-san to go through what he was going through. He took a deep breath before speaking. He didn’t like the idea of having to open up to a student, but he needed to let her know what had happened to him. She had to understand that doing things out of love for someone could be wrong in certain conditions._

_“I understand that you love him – there’s someone I love too, you probably know about that – but what if he was going to betray you? Are you completely sure you can afford to hide things from me and Gekkogahara-san? What if, by trying to protecting him, you were putting everyone else in danger?”_

_Nanami-san looked up at him, pastel pink eyes seemingly lost in thought. That was good. This meant that she was registering what he was saying – that she was at least thinking about it. He could get her to tell him something._

_“Izuru-kun told me everything that happened between you and Munakata-san,” she said. Her voice was soft but he didn’t lower his guard. He’d been manipulated by a member of Ultimate Despair once. He was not going to let that happen again. “So I suppose you’ll think I’m foolish for doing this, but I trust him. All I can tell you is to investigate the situation thoroughly. Even if I’m wrong, you’ll be able to figure that out yourself… I think. I have faith in the future.”_

_Had this happened a few days ago, Juzo would have pushed his investigation further. This wasn’t to say that he was satisfied with the results – it was quite the contrary. But he was okay with having narrowed down the list of hypotheses to these two possibilities: either Nanami-san had joined forces with Kamukura for Ultimate Despair, or, considering the Ultimate Gamer didn’t seem disturbed by the video she’d seen, Kamukura was only pretending to be Enoshima’s successor. Besides, her seemingly blind faith in the future could be the correct response to what was going on, for all he knew. It would be up to him and the others to figure out truth from lies and right from wrong. He quickly dismissed her, reminding her that she wasn’t to skip class under any circumstances today. She agreed._

-

“Still thinking about Nanami-san?”

The question snapped Juzo out of his thoughts. He hadn’t expected the cold detective to care about what he was reflecting on.

“I suppose so. It doesn’t help that you’re barely talking to me.”

A faint smile appeared on her face, and she closed her eyes for a moment. Juzo couldn’t help but think about how different she was from her father. He was starting to understand why his former boss had given up on detective work. He definitely didn’t have the appropriate demeanor or personality for it.

“I apologize. Detective work doesn’t require any type of conversation, you see. I was also under the impression that Gekkogahara-san had you follow me around to be sure I’d have some sort of protection. After all, we’re still up against someone who has much more power than we do, whether that person is Kamukura-san or Munakata-san.”

He didn’t respond, understanding that because of Kyoko-san’s perfect logic, she would be bossing him around as long as their investigation would going on. Luckily for him, she wasn’t too unpleasant to be around.

**XXXXXXX**

With everyone gathered around her like this, Miaya felt as though they were capable of anything. It didn’t matter if Nanami-chan wanted to protected Kamukura-kun, or if Munakata-san wanted to protect his position as headmaster. She was surrounded by good people, who were seeking to find out the truth behind everything that had been going on the academy. She knew that by joining forces the way they had today, the would reach a breakthrough. Typing on the keyboard in front of her, she let Usami speak for her:

“I am extremely grateful for all your hard work and help today! Even though we haven’t shared all our discoveries yet, I am sure you all have something interesting to bring to the table. I even have hope that we will get to the bottom of this before the day ends.”

Since the sun was already setting outside, it was a bit of a wild bet, but Miaya didn’t care. She had decided to believe in her friends. As the former Ultimate Therapist, she had always had it in her to believe in others, no matter how damaged they thought they were. However, this newfound belief in her friends was something new. She was usually the one who was helping others. This time, everyone had been helping her. It had warmed her heart so much that she felt quite close to removing her scarf to share her smile with everyone in the room.

“I suppose we’ll start,” Kirigiri-chan said, glancing at Sakakura-kun, who had been her partner for the day. She hadn’t been sure about pairing the two together, but it seemed to have gone well.

“We were able to identify the room where the video was shot,” he said. “It’s a shame you told us to not act on our own, because I’ve been dying to just go in there. The problem with that is that Kyoko-san thinks that’s where Kamukura is still hiding.”

“Correct. Preventing you from doing anything reckless and going off on your own was a pain, though. In any case, it seems like the room where Kamukura-san and Yukizome-san were is the classroom where the killing game between the members of the student council took place,” Kirigiri-chan continued, as collected as ever. “The only reason why no one could figure it out from the start is because the blood stains, and all classroom material have been removed. I imagine Kamukura-san has been repurposing the room so he could carry out whatever he plan he came up with.”

Even if she’d heard of the young girl’s prowess as a dectective, Miaya was still amazed by how good she was. She sounded and acted like she had been doing this her entire life – _well, since she’s part of the Kirigiri clan, it’s probably the case_ , she thought to herself – and had reached the level of the most skilled detectives on the planet. Some people had assumed that Kizakura-san had only scouted her because she was his best friend’s daughter, but seeing her work like this would have convinced anyone of how worthy she was of her title of Ultimate Detective.

“Besides, even if he isn’t in that specific classroom anymore, he’s definitely hiding in the old building. Or at the very least, that’s where he wants us to go.”

“Couldn’t it be a trap?” Kirigiri-san asked. Miaya understoof he wasn’t doubting his daughter’s skills. He was only pushing her to do her best, just like any parent would.

“You underestimate me,” she chuckled. “Tell him, Sakakura-san.”

“We talked to Nanami-san again. Before you guys accuse me of not following orders, it was her idea. But anyway, Kyoko-san wanted to see her just to make sure she wasn’t hiding anything. She also thought it would be a good opportunity for her to figure out if going to the old school building would be a trap.”

“And I’ve reached the conclusion that it wouldn’t be a trap,” Kirigiri-chan continued, a smug smile on her face. Anyone in the room could tell that she was happy to prover her father wrong. “Nanami-san seems to be aware of something, but Kamukura-san definitely made sure she wouldn’t tell anyone. So, as Sakakura-san was telling us during lunch, she’s either Ultimate Despair, or Kamukura-san is pretending to be Ultimate Despair. In my opinion, it’s the latter. I remember the relationship between Ikusaba-san and Enoshima – the way Nanami-san speaks of Kamukura-san is completely different.”

Miaya made Usami nod. Kirigiri-chan’s investigation had been thorough enough for them to be able to act as soon as everyone else would have shared their discoveries of the day. She knew it was important for them to make the first move. If Munakata-kun were to find Kamukura-kun first, something bad would happen, even if he were innocent.

“In case we need to fight,” Kizakura-san then spoke, “I scouted the most fight-oriented ultimates and former ultimates I could get a hold of. After I was done with my duties as the homeroom teacher for class 77, of course,” he added, with a smile directed at Miaya. Of course, having been his student, she hadn’t fully trusted him with that mission. She knew he knew it – he was observant enough to figure out such things without anyone pointing them out to him.

“Who do you have on your team?” Usami asked, ignoring the extra comment and smile.

Her former teacher handed her piece of paper on which a list of name had been written in a messy handwriting she had gotten used to over the years. No matter how frustrated she was with the older man and his drinking habit, she was thankful for his scouting abilities. Despite his habit of crossing boundaries, it was hard to say no to him when he asked you to help him with something. He definitely was a strange individual, but there was something about him that made him likable, especially to students.

Miaya quickly scanned over the list, smiling to herself as she read the names.

_Izayoi Sonosuke, Ultimate Blacksmith.  
Owada Mondo, Ultimate Bike Gang Leader.   
Owari Akane, Ultimate Gymnast._   
_Ogami Sakura, Ultimate Martial Artist.  
Ikusaba Mukuro, Ultimate Soldier.  
Pekoyama Peko, Ultimate Swordswoman.  
Nidai Nekomaru, Ultimate Team Manager.  
Great Gozu, Ultimate Wrestler.  
Kuzuruyu Fuyuhiko, Ultimate Yakuza. _

The list was small, but it would be one way to guarantee their victory. No matter how power-hungry Munakata-kun was, he could not risk killing one of his students, especially if they were in no way, shape, or form, associated with the Ultimate Despair. After what Kamukura-kun had revealed about him in the video he had sent everyone, Miaya knew her former classmate would have to tread about carefully.

“Excellent work, Kizakura-san!” Usami beamed before turning to Kirigiri-san.

“I couldn’t do as much as all of you,” the former headmaster said apologetically, making his own daughter scoff. “But I must congratulate you on how much effort you’ve put into this. I know none of this would be happening if I hadn’t been so weak-willed against the steering committee, so I am indebted to all of you for doing so much to clean up the mess I’ve made.” There was a pause, during which Kirigiri-san made a face. “I do know that none of you are doing it for me, per say, but I have prepared the speech I will deliver once all of this is over. I even found a way to convince everyone that forgiving and rehabilitating Kamukura Izuru is the right course of action, even if he truly is Ultimate Despair, which, from what I understand, is unlikely.”

“Thank you, Kirigiri-san! Every student who attended the academy with you as its headmaster knew how much you cared about it. It’s only natural that we give you your position of headmaster back when this is over and done with.”

Miaya marked a pause, preparing herself to explain what she had been doing when everyone was working hard on their rescue mission to the people gathered in the room. She knew it wasn’t much, but it had been a project dear to her, and she was thrilled to tell them that she had managed to complete it on such a short notice.

“As for me, I worked with the Ultimate Programmer, Fujisaki-kun, and we completed the Neo-World Program. That way, if we need to rehabilitate Kamukura-kun, we have the means to do it. It was tough, but Matsuda-kun’s journal was a great help.”

Everyone in her office was smiling, and Miaya knew that no matter what was about to happen next, they would come out victorious. It wouldn’t be easy, but they had the hope necessary to succeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell them Naegi-kun, but it's tell them Sakakura-san, hehe.


	14. Trusting

Twenty-five minutes and forty-two seconds. That was how long it would take Gekkogahara’s team to enter the old school building.

Twenty-seven minutes and fifty-four seconds. That was how long it would take Munakata-sensei to do the same thing.

Two minutes and twelve seconds too late. As expected. _How predictable,_ Izuru sighed. Still, he was happy with the outcome. This meant that he would finally get everything he wanted. Besides, in spite of how risky this had been, Chiaki hadn’t been endangered or hurt. Everything had gone according to his plan.

When he’d left her that morning after confessing to her, he had his doubts about her staying put just like he’d asked her to. There was something in her eyes, and in her voice, that had led him to believe that she would try something. So far, she hadn’t. Part of him thought that she no longer had any reasons to act on her own, what with how much of the day had passed, but he still prepared himself just in case. After all, she’d been the most illogical part of the equation until now. It wasn’t over until he was officially joining class 77.

Twenty minutes and thirty seconds. Twenty-two minutes and forty-two seconds. Izuru’s mental clock was ticking. He was oddly calm for someone who was about to risk his own life, but he believed in himself. No matter what they tried, they couldn’t hurt him. And he’d make sure they wouldn’t hurt any of the people on his side.

He knew he had betrayed them by filming and mass-sending that video, but it had been necessary. If he hadn’t, it would have been months until they would have finally found evidence of Yukizome’s brainwashing. Chiaki had taught him that having faith in others worked out by having faith in him, so he’d done just that. He hadn’t told anyone – except Chiaki – about his plan, but at no point had he been scared that they would fall for what he’d said in the video. He knew they would have been confused at first, but that they would carry out a thorough investigation that would enable them to uncover the truth. He also knew that no matter what the public would think about him after the incident, they would be able to sway opinions in in favor. That was why Izuru hadn’t been scared – he had faith.

He looked at Yukizome, whom he’d tied to a chair in that same room where they had shot the video together. He’d chosen this room specifically because of what it meant to him. This was where Enoshima had tried to frame him for something he was barely involved in, where she had promised him he would see something that even he couldn’t predict. By going through with most of his plan here, he was reclaiming that room, and his life. This was all thanks to Chiaki – thanks to her faith in him, her feelings, and everything she’d done for him. She had given him something he didn’t know he needed; that he didn’t know he lacked. It would have been hard for anyone to believe that the Ultimate Hope, the embodiment of human perfection, could be lacking in a certain area, after all. And yet, he’d lacked _humanity_ ever since he’d woken up in that laboratory.

He smiled to himself, thinking about how this was yet another thing he hadn’t been able to predict. He really wasn’t perfect. And that was fine. Because Chiaki liked him and they had a future together.

 _‘If we just try, Izuru, things will turn out okay.’_ That was the last thing she’d told him when they had parted. He believed in these words, just like he believed in her and the others. It had given him an extra push to try. And here he was, waiting.

One minute and eight seconds. Three minutes and twenty seconds. Yukizome was staring at him, and he turned to her.

“Your former classmates will be here soon. Some of your students will come along with them. I wonder what you’ll feel as you see how strong their hope is, compared to your despair. I don’t care much for the answer, but I’ll be here to watch.”

She tried to protest, but the duct tape Izuru had placed on her mouth prevented her from doing so. He’d grown tired of hearing her speak three hours ago. Her words, her voice, everything coming from her mouth had bored him to tears. He’d decided he didn’t have to deal with it anymore until the others would arrive.

Thirty seconds… twenty-nine… twenty-eight… twenty-seven… twenty-six… twenty-five… twenty-four… twenty-three… twenty-two… twenty one… twenty…

“Aw man, I can’t get this stupid door open! You try it, coach Nekomaru!”

“Owari-san, it would be much better if you combined your efforts with Ogami-san’s and Sakakura-san’s. Everyone on my mark! Three! Two! One!”

The sound of the collapse of the heavy door that marked the entrance of the building was deafening, but Izuru didn’t mind. It was the very first evidence of the fact that he had been right to have faith in everyone. They were here. They’d done it, at last.

He sat still, listening to the sound of footsteps that were coming towards them. They’d be with him in ten seconds. Owari would barge into the room without thinking twice, closely followed by Ikusaba, who would be extremely wary of him and trying to protect the girl she would be following, if only to further her own redemption.

Nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… _Just as expected._

Ikusaba pointed a gun at him. He raised his hands above his head and stood up to show her she had nothing to fear. The Ultimate Soldier lowered her weapon but kept glaring at him. That was okay. He understood she was mad he had brought back her worst nightmare, even if he had only been faking it all. It had brought back painful memories of hers that she had been trying to get rid of for the past year. He made a mental note to apologize to her later.

“You have a minute and fifty-seven seconds left until Munakata walks in the builing,” Izuru spoke in his usual neutral tone. “According to my predictions, he will only attempt to hurt a few of you.”

“Do you know who?” Ikusaba barked back. He could tell, from the way she was speaking and looking at him, that she resented him. He’d expected it. It wasn’t his fault if her sister had died, but he hadn’t had to suffer as much as she had after their arrestation and her death.

“You,” he replied, pausing for a second. “And you,” he added once Sakakura walked into the room. “I can protect you, if it’s what it comes down to in the end. However, I would rather not get my hands any dirtier than they already are.”

Sakakura’s eyes widened, and Izuru realized that the idea that Munakata would try to hurt him on top of how much he’d already hurt him was baffling to him. Yet, the boxer quickly snapped out of it, refocusing on the moment.

“What do you suggest we do, then? If we stay here, he’ll definitely come for us, won’t he?”

Izuru closed his eyes for a few seconds just to have a clearer idea of who had been gathered by Kizakura for this rescue mission. _A minute and six seconds left._

“Send the Ultimate Swordswoman and the Ultimate Blacksmith to entrance of the building. Their sword-fighting skills combined should be enough to stall him for… At least five minutes and thirty-three seconds. Possibly more, if he doesn’t expect them to be on guard duty.”

“Go get Pekoyama-san and Izayoi-san, and tell them this is what they’ll be doing,” Sakakura ordered, turning to Owari who bolted out of the room the same way she’d entered. Because of what he’d heard about her from Chiaki, Izuru was surprised she was following orders without protesting at all. _Human beings,_ he thought, _truly can defy my predictions if put in the right setting._

“Very well. As for you two, there’s an underground pathway that leads to the faculty staff building of the academy. You’ll take her with you,” he said, pointing at Yukizome who’d been sitting there the entire time. He then walked towards her, grabbing the syringe he’d prepared on the previous day. “I will sedate her to make your task easier,” he continued, sensing Ikusaba’s discomfort. “Don’t worry, she’ll wake up in an hour. Navigating through that maze is going to be hard enough as it is, so I wanted to make sure she wouldn’t slow you down too much. Anyway, take her to Kirgiri. Do not come back here once you’re done.”

Sakakura nodded, while Ikusaba still seemed troubled. Izuru knew she hadn’t hurt anyone in a year, but given the confident look that was on her face when she’d pointed her gun at him, he wouldn’t have assumed she would be so hesitant now. He took a few seconds to reassess the situation. _She doesn’t trust me yet,_ he told himself. _But we’re running out of time. I don’t have time to tell her about Chiaki or anything that’s happened to me since we last met._

“Ikusaba,” he called, making sure to keep his voice firm. “I know you don’t trust me. You of all people here know exactly what I’m capable of. You remember what I did to your sister. But this is your chance to atone for your sins – for everything she made you do in the past. This is the one chance you have to impress whoever has been giving you the strength to go through those therapy sessions. Don’t mess it up.”

“Understood!”

Izuru untied Yukizome and let Sakakura carry her. Munakata had been at the front door of the building, fighting with Pekoyama and Izayoi for a minute and seventeen seconds. It wasn’t too late for them to go. He knew they would be able to make it. His two allies headed towards the hallway, and as she was about to exit the room, Ikusaba turned back to him, cold blue eyes staring at him as though she were still trying to figure out if he truly was on her side, and what his motives were.

“What will you do, Kamukura?”

“I’ll let the Ultimate Martial Artist and the Ultimate Wrestler capture me. Do not worry about me. I do not wish to harm anyone.”

“If you do, I’ll hunt you and kill you myself,” she muttered, sprinting out of the room to catch up with Sakakura who had not waited for her, or even noticed she’d stayed back for a few extra seconds – he was too busy gathering extra men to escort them out of the building.

Izuru placed his hand in his pocket, his fingers brushing against the only picture he’d ever enjoyed looking at. He was doing all of this for her – so all her efforts to spend time with him and make him enjoy whatever they were doing wouldn’t be vain; so he wouldn’t fall back in his usual boredom due to his isolation from normal human interactions.

He had seen it coming, and it had planted worries that he hadn’t been able to rid himself of. His predictions of his own behavior were always accurate. He knew that if he had had to spend three more weeks in isolation, even with being able to see Chiaki at night, things would have gotten boring again. The thought of being able to see her at night wouldn’t have been enough to keep him in check anymore. He would constantly be longing for more, and this was a suffering he wouldn’t have been able to tame. No matter how comforting Chiaki’s presence was, and how tough it had been to analyze her behaviors and reactions in a logical way, Izuru had quickly realized that only seeing her for a few hours at night would have driven him crazy eventually. It would have been something similar to the withdrawal symptoms of an addict – something even he and all his skills would have been entirely powerless against.

He enjoyed the way she made his heart flutter way too much to be willing to give up on it. She’d given him a taste of what it was like to be truly human, and he wanted more. He could not have waited for Gekkogahara’s investigation to be over. It would have taken too long. That was why he had been hiding here for three days.

Ogami, the Ultimate Martial Artist, eventually stepped into the room, bringing his attention back to the current situation. He looked at her and showed her his hands, as if to signal to her that he would not hurt her. She calmly smiled at him in response.

“No need for this,” she said. Her voice was soft, contrasting with her physical appearance. “I do not sense any will to fight in you. As Kirigiri-san figured out during her investigation of your case, you wish to surrender to us. I only came here to keep close watch of you while the others attempt to stop Munakata-san.”

“Once that’s completed,” Izuru continued “you will take me to Kirigiri and Gekkogahara so they can interrogate me and ensure that I have not tricked any of you.” The girl nodded in response, another quiet smile creeping on her face. “Is anyone hurt?”

“No, but they are having difficulty containing Munakata-san’s anger.”

“All we can do is have faith in them.”

Having said these words, Izuru sat down on the floor and patiently waited for the fighting to be over. This marked a new beginning for him, and he was more than ready to accept it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, since I'm not too good at writing action/fight scenes, I decided to make them all happen in the background - I hope that wasn't too disappointing or anything like that.  
> Also, we're 2-3 chapters away from the end of this fic now (for real this time, I don't think I'll be able to change the plot anymore just to put out extra content). I'm pretty happy with how far I've gone with this. I know the quality of the chapters is sorta inconsistent - I feel like I'm just better at writing introspective scenes than anything else - so I wanted to thank you all for all your comments (even the ones I don't respond to, sometimes I just don't know what to say!), kudos, and hits. I have a few ideas for what I'll write once this is over, and I hope to keep you guys with me through these hehe.  
> In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you guys for the next one, either tomorrow or on Friday!


	15. Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story unfolds!

Chiaki sat next to Komaeda-kun, tired from having been interrogated not once, but twice by Sakakura-san. She understood that they needed clear-cut answers about Izuru’s motives and how involved she was in his plans, but she couldn’t give them that. It would have ruined everything Izuru was doing – not by altering the outcome, but by creating a bias in the answer to the underlying question he had asked her before parting with her. She had wanted to tell Sakakura-san everything she knew, but Izuru would have been able to tell. So she’d had to bite her tongue and stay quiet, explaining over and over again that she didn’t know anything, and that even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to tell them. This wasn’t much of a lie, after all. It helped a little with the guilt she was experiencing.

She scanned the room, noticing that some of her classmates were gone. She turned to Komaeda-kun and braced herself for the long rant of an answer he would end up giving her. In other circumstances, she would have sat next to and asked someone else, but today, she thought she could use some of his luck. She didn’t fully understand how it worked, but she had nothing to lose.

“Where did Pekoyama-san, Owari-san, Kuzuruyu-kun, and Nidai-kun go?”

“Kizakura-sensei took them with him once he was done with homeroom. He said they were going to rescue Yukizome-sensei, I can’t even imagine just how bright their hope will shine in the face of such despair! I wish I was there to see it myself!”

_Well, that could have been worse,_ Chiaki thought as she thanked her classmate for his answer. Things were going according to Izuru’s plan. This was okay. It would be okay. She just had to sit there and wait for him to come back to her… Or did she? She took another look at Komaeda-kun, who was still smiling at her. Everyone else around them seemed to be too busy worrying and discussing what happened to Yukizome-sensei to notice anything happening around them – except for Tsumiki-san, who had been looking as though she’d just seen a ghost ever since they’d received the video. Part of her wanted to be able to give Komaeda-kun the opportunity to watch things unfold with her, as she was feeling quite curious about how things were going for them, especially for Izuru. Besides, she thought they would probably be able to help everyone who was fighting. In spite of that, she didn’t move, remembering what had happened last time she’d seen Izuru instead, if only to give her the extra hope she needed to help her with how restless she was feeling. 

-

_When Chiaki woke up, Izuru was still sitting on the chair he was sitting on when she had fallen asleep. Her mind felt hazy, and she was having a hard time remembering why she hadn’t slept in her own room during the previous night. Surely, they had acted quite recklessly there, hadn’t they? Something bad would happen if Munakata-sensei were to find out that she had spent the entire night here. After all, that was why she kept her daily visits to Izuru shorter than she really wanted her to be._

_“You’re awake. How are you feeling?” He asked. He probably knew exactly how she was feeling, but she opened her mouth to speak to him anyway._

_“Ka… Izuru,” she started, a small wave of memories of what they’d talked about last night suddenly hitting her. “I’m… I’m fine, I think.”_

_“Good, you seem to remember what I told you last night.” She nodded and looked at his eyes, trying to understand why one of them seemed to be turning green again. It’d been a scarlet red when she first woke up, she was sure of it._

_“I feel like there is something else you wanted to tell me, but didn’t because I was too sleepy.”_

_“That’s right.” He walked closer to the bed and helped her sit up. She wanted to protest and tell him that she could very well do this on her own, but the feeling of his hands on her arms made her reconsider. “I have a plan,” he added, sitting next to her._

_“Is it dangerous?”_

_“Not really. Things should go according to my predictions, so I will be safe. I know this is a lot to ask from you, especially considering everything my plan implies, but do not intervene. I want to see if having faith in others and the future the way you do is the right thing for me to do as well.”_

_Chiaki stared at him for a moment, not sure if she understood what he was talking about. Still, the idea of a plan, no matter how dangerous, that he had already predicted the outcome of didn’t sound so dangerous. She urged him to tell her more about it, and listened closely as he explained what he was going to do. Once he was done, he asked if she was okay with it, apparently wanting to make sure she would be able to handle seeing him pretend to be Ultimate Despair. She nodded. If Izuru wanted to see if he could have faith in others, she would show him that she completely trusted him with everything he was trying to do._

_They remained silent for a while, just looking at each other. She felt her heart race in her chest every time she caught another glimpse of him. His right eye was looking more and more similar to what she remembered of Hinata-kun’s eyes. This didn’t mean that she was back to longing for him, though – she definitely cared about Izuru too much for it to be the case. She wanted to be with him and, remembering what had happened when she’d last said goodbye to Hinata-kun, she decided to tell him everything. On the off chance that his predictions would be wrong, she couldn’t mess everything up a second time by not mustering up the courage to speak._

_“You know Izuru, I… I’ve enjoyed all the moments we’ve spent together, and I…” This was harder than she’d assumed it would be._

_“I know, Chiaki,” he interrupted her, taking her hand. If her cheeks weren’t a bright shade of red when she’d started speaking, they definitely were now. “I have, too. I believe I might—”_

_“I like you, Izuru!” she blurted out, surprising herself with how loud she’d been._

_She dared look at him again after a few seconds, her hand still in his. He was smiling at her and his right eye was now shining a bright emerald green – the same color Hinata-kun’s eyes used to be._

_“I like you, too,” he replied. “I know, my eye,” he quickly followed. It still caught her off guard when he was able to guess what she was thinking about like this. “From what I know of the procedure I went through to become talented, there is a way to bring parts of who I used to be into who I am now. I suppose it also shows physically. Eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul.”_

_“Well, regardless of the why, I like it. It’s part of what makes you who you are, and proof that I can believe in what you have planned for the next few days. I’ll be cheering for you, even if you don’t want me to come close to you during that time.”_

_She hugged him, pressing her small frame into his chest and wrapping her arms around him. He placed one arm around her waist and used his other hand to stroke her hair the way he had last night, making her feel more relaxed. They would be okay. They believed in each other, and that was more than enough for them to succeed._

_“Just don’t fret about my eye being back to red when you see the video, it will be part of the act.”_

-

“Nanami-san, are you okay? Are you disappointed you won’t be able to let your hope shine through and help Yukizome-sensei with the others? I understand they didn’t choose trash like me, I don’t have much of a talent after all, but it’s true that in your case it doesn’t make much sense and I’m sure you could ha—”

“Ah no, Komaeda-kun, I’m fine, really,” she chuckled, looking at her classmate. “I think I just spaced out for a moment because I was thinking about someone important to me.”

“Do you have a crush on Kuzuryu-kun?” Chiaki burst out laughing. Komaeda-kun truly was an odd one, but she’d grown quite fond of him over the years he’d been her classmate.

“It’s not anyone you know. Besides, I think Kuzuryu-kun and Pekoyama-san are secretly together.”

She tuned out the sound of his voice as he went on yet another rant about the miracles that the binding of two hopes as amazing as Kuzuryu-kun’s and Pekoyama-san’s could create. She felt oddly happy and at peace. Even though her classmate’s long, crazy tirades about hope had gotten the best of her at times, they were still part of her normal, every day life. And soon enough, Izuru, whose entire existence was even crazier than Komaeda-kun’s speeches, would be part of it as well. He would be sitting close to her, in that very classroom, and things would be okay. There would be no more secrets and strange experiments and rules keeping them apart. She smiled. She had tried, and things were about to turn out okay.

* * *

The monitor that was used for school announcements suddenly turned itself on, and the usual ringing that preceded these announcements chimed through the classroom. The sound of the chatter that had been filling the room gradually got lower, until everyone was completely silent.

They had been sitting there for most of the night, just like Kizakura-sensei had instructed them to, waiting for news. The news were finally coming to them. Everyone’s anticipation of what was about to happen could almost physically felt. Kirigiri-san appeared on the screen, sitting in what looked like Munakata-san’s office.

“Greetings everyone, staff members and students of Hope’s Peak academy. I apologize for the late announcement and for having you stay up so late, but it was important to me and my team that we bring the news to you as soon as possible. The past few days have been quite confusing for everyone, and we wanted to put an end to that confusion the moment we had all the information.”

_Just get to the point,_ Chiaki thought, suddenly nervous that something had happened to Izuru. It wasn’t that she had stopped believing in him – no, she was simply scared that history would repeat itself, and that she would lose him the way she had lost Hinata-kun. She knew it was partly stupid, but she couldn’t help it.

“Right now, I can assure you that no more secrets will be kept from any of you. Munkata Kyosuke has voiced his desire to step down as headmaster of the academy. As its former leader, I have decided that this was the right thing to do for now. The mistakes he’s made, the way he’s treated some of our staff, are unforgivable offenses that make him unworthy of being the man running this academy.”

She glanced at her classmates, but none of them let any emotion or worry show on their faces. Yet, she knew all of them had been worried sick for Yukizome-sensei ever since they’d watched the video together. _Maybe they’re just as impatient as I am, it’s okay. It will be okay. I’m sure Izuru is fine._

“I am glad to tell you that no one on our side as been injured during our investigation and rescue mission.”

The camera moved around the room to show the various people Kirigiri-san had been working with. Chiaki recognized Gekkogahara-san and her classmates, as well as Kirigiri-san’s daughter and Ogami-san, her underclassmen. Sakakura-san was the last person to appear on screen before the camera switched back to Kirigiri-san. She frowned. She was glad they were all okay, but she wanted to know about Izuru more than about anyone else, despite how selfish that wish was.

“As for the Ultimate Despair,” Hope’s Peak academy’s former headmaster finally said “our investigation team has found Kamukura Izuru innocent. Having been in contact with Enoshima when she was still alive, he was one of the only people who knew about Yukizome Chisa’s state. He has explained to us that taking such drastic measures and lying to everyone had been the only way for him to reveal the truth and make sure the academy would be rid of its secrets and lies.”

The camera then showed Izuru’s face and Chiaki jumped off her seat, beaming. He was fine. He had done what he had to do, and people would forgive him now. They had to. Kirigiri-san had said it, he’d lied to everyone with _good_ intentions – he had gone through all of this for the sake of the academy. Besides, his right eye was green again. This could only be good news.

“Class rep?” Sonia-san called. “What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, it’s nothing!” Chiaki felt embarrassed for reacting the way she had, and she sunk back in her seat, hoping everyone would forget about how she’d just cheered.

“Yukizome Chisa has been arrested. However, she will not follow in Enoshima’s footsteps. Our results with Ikusaba Mukuro and Tsumiki Mikan have shown that the Ultimate Despair’s brainwashing techniques are not infallible, and that their effect can be erased.”

This time, it was Tsumiki-san who reacted quite strongly, bluntly saying something about how glad she was that their teacher was safe and could be saved. Chiaki looked around her, and everyone seemed relieved. It was only natural – everyone they knew and cared about was unharmed. They couldn’t ask for much more than that.

“As for me, I will not replace Munakata-san as headmaster of the academy,” Kirigiri-san said, the class’s attention turning back to the broadcast. “During my time, I have made many mistakes which cannot be repaired. The biggest one of these was letting the Steering Committee constantly bypass my authority. This led to things for which I can never forgive myself, namely the assassination of the student council and the hope cultivation plan. As such, I have decided, as my farewell gift to Hope’s Peak Academy, to put my faith and trust into the person who has made everything that has happened today possible – Gekkogahara Miaya, our former Ultimate Therapist. I believe she will do a great job as your headmaster.”

Chiaki hadn’t seen that coming, and judging by the looks on her classmates’ faces, she wasn’t the only one. As Kirigiri-san ended the broadcast, she wondered if that had also been part of Izuru’s predictions. Knowing him, it probably had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try my best to upload the epilogue tomorrow to give this fic a proper (and cute) conclusion. I could have added it to this chapter but it probably would have been too long, so I decided to make you guys wait an extra day for a little bit more fluff and more interaction between Izuru and Chiaki.


	16. Epilogue - Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels weird to think that this fic is ending. I've definitely had fun writing it. Hope you guys enjoy the epilogue!

As he paced around the academy, Izuru was feeling quite nervous. Today marked three days since he had officially enrolled at Hope’s Peak, making him part of class 77. He hadn’t attended any classes yet – Kizakura, who would be his homeroom teacher, had suggested he spent time getting used to normal campus life and social interactions before doing so – but he had definitely been enjoying his new freedom. Even though he could predict everything that was going on around him, whether it was the chatter of the people, the sounds of the birds flying around him, or even who he would end up bumping into, there was something so refreshing about being able to do such simple things that everyone took for granted. Besides, this also enabled him to see Chiaki whenever she was out of class – his favorite part of the day.

He sat on the bench by the fountain as he had every day for the past three days. Chiaki would be joining him in three minutes and twenty-six seconds, as she always did. They would spend some time together, talking about her day and planning for the next ones. As regular as his routine was, it did not bore Izuru. Everything that had happened since he had first played video games with Chiaki had shown him there were things he couldn’t predict, and that even the ones that could be predicted could be enjoyed. There was beauty in normalcy – that had been the most surprising thing to him.

He straightened himself and looked in the distance, spotting Chiaki. He waved at her from afar, making her suddenly sprint towards him. He had no idea what was making her so excited to see him today, and he didn’t mind. She would tell him, and she would smile as she did. The sun would be hitting her pale skin, giving her that angelic glow that emphasized her features in the most flattering way. And he would get that warm feeling he always got when she was close to him. He knew all these things. He knew exactly how they unfolded and what they meant, but it didn’t make them boring. He was happy to be experiencing them.

“Hi, Izuru,” she said, slightly out of breath from the running she’d just done, which had made her arrive forty-five seconds earlier than he’d originally predicted. “I’m sorry we won’t have much time just the two of us together today. I told everyone you’d be joining us for classes tomorrow so they wanted to throw you a welcome party. I… I don’t know how comfortable you are with that, but I just couldn’t say no. They all just seemed so excited and happy to finally meet you.”

“All? Are you sure it wasn’t just Komaeda?” He asked, wincing as he remembered every single ‘lucky’ encounter he had had with class 77’s Ultimate Lucky Student.

“He might have been the most excited out of all them,” she chuckled, sitting down beside him. “But I promise you everyone else wants to get to know you.”

“Well, I had something else planned for tonight, and it’s important to me. I guess we’ll have to rush it.”

She tilted her head to the side, staring at him. It was her way to show him she was confused and wondering what he was talking about without using words. Izuru thought it was adorable. He reached for the pair of scissors he’d brought with him today and handed it to Chiaki.

“I don’t think having hair this long will be very practical. Besides I… I sorta feel like Hajime, someti—”

“You know I love you just the way you are, right?” Izuru only then realized that the way he had worded things made it sound like he was wishing he was still Hajime Hinata and had never gone through with the hope cultivation plan – this wasn’t the case.

“No, no, that’s not what I mean. I do know that. And I like being Izuru, too. It’s just that everything you’ve brought back from Hajime by being around me makes me feel like I’m both,” he laughed. “It sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t mind crazy, as long as it’s not I might murder you crazy.”

“In any case, I just thought that since all my talents are mostly what makes me Izuru, I could go back to looking like Hajime. And since you’re the one who brought these parts of me back, I thought you could bring the hair back.”

“Right here?”

Izuru nodded at her, turning around on the bench so as to have his back to her. she hadn’t explicitly said yes, but he knew she would do it. His analytical abilities told him that she knew how important it was to him, and that it felt important to her as well. He felt her hands in his hair, gently grabbing some pieces and cutting them off. She apologized several times for how messy it would all look, but Izuru didn’t care. He didn’t want her to cut his hair for aesthetic reasons, but for what it symbolized – the fact he was reclaiming his freedom, his identity, and his life.

It took Chiaki twenty minutes to be done with it. She handed him her phone, letting him use it as mirror. As he did so, Izuru smiled. Not only had Chiaki done a pretty good job for someone who had never cut hair before, it also was everything he’d wanted.

“Thank you, Chiaki,” he said softly, initiating a hug for the first time since they had confessed to each other. He pressed a small kiss on her forehead and kept her there for a while.

“I love you, Izuru.”

“I love you, too.”

They pulled away, and Chiaki suggested that it was time for them to join her – no, their – classmates. As they walked towards the main building of the academy, a poem popped up in Izuru’s head.

_‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –  
That perches in the soul –  
And sings the tune without the words –  
And never stops – at all … _

_\- Emily Dickinson_

His hand in Chiaki’s, Izuru knew he’d found his hope – it was her, and everything she’d given him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million thank you's for all your kudos and comments, and all the support you've given me while I was writing this. 
> 
> As some of you have pointed out in the comments, there is a lot in this AU that was left unexplored. I did it on purpose - I was afraid that if I gave every character's story line in just one thing, the whole thing would be too scattered and difficult to read and follow. What I'm trying to say here is that there will be other fics taking place in this AU from me. Here are the ideas I've had so far:  
> \- An introspective fic focusing on Mukuro's recovery from Junko's influence (possibly in the form of a diary and therapy sessions with Miaya)  
> \- A prequel focusing on Yasuke and Junko as Ryoko - how Yasuke came up with the memory erasing and talent implanting processes, etc. basically an edit + sequel to the vent one shot I wrote about it about a week ago  
> \- Something focusing on Kyoko and her relationship with her father, as well as her breaking away from the Kirigiri code as she makes friends in the academy  
> A lot of you also suggested something focusing on Chisa, but I'm not really inspired by the idea for now. I'm not saying it won't happen, though. There might also be a few sequel one-shots about Izuru and Chiaki coming, but no promises here.
> 
> In any case, I wanted to say again just how grateful I am for how well this fic did and how much you guys seemed to enjoy it. This made me more motivated to write and update. So yes, I'm sorry for all the rambling. I hope you also liked the conclusion to this fic, and that some of you will follow whatever I end up writing next.


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